Caged By Hate
by Reina-183
Summary: Warning YAOI! RikuSora. Riku's a theif a murderer, a scroundral, doomed to live for an eternity of pain unless he can find kindness and love. Will 4 misfits help him find what he's looking for?
1. The Boy Named Sky

Hola! This isn't the sequel to Painful Salvation, but it is a Kingdom Hearts Fanfiction! It's a short story (maybe), and I hope everyone enjoys it!

Warning: This story contains yaoi, and if you do not know what that means then you shouldn't be reading this. There are also suggestive themes, so don't flame me because I did warn you.

Disclaimer: I Don't own Kingdom Hearts, and I'm not selling this for any profit.

Caged By Hate

Chapter 1: Blue Eyes of the One Named Sky

Blue has always been my favorite color. It is a symbol of peace, and it is a symbol of freedom. Freedom I can never have. Freedom I dream of and yet at the same time I know I don't deserve it. I don't know what's worse, being trapped unjustly, like a caged butterfly waiting for freedom, or being convicted and trapped, like a murderer being condemned for his sins against humanity. To know you deserve your imprisonment does not help with the pain of living it out.

Blue is a magical color. There are so many shades. The Light blue of the morning sky and the dark blue midnight, both are beautiful, and both lie beyond the realm of my cage. I have done so many things, so many bad things to so many people, but the worst thing I have ever done is to not do anything.

And that is why I am here.

Where is here? This is hell. No, hell is a walk in the park compared to this. There is nothing more terrible than being caged to the Earth, to be caged to life. I watch as the seasons change, as people grow old and die, as the ones I care about leave me, one by one. Year by year, decade by decade, until it reaches two hundred years. Two hundred years on the edge of eternity; there is no punishment worst than not being allowed to die.

I have watch the sky evolve, watched it's sunshine blue grow darker and more gray as people grow colder and crueler. I have seen the warmth of so many great hearts, and I have washed the blood of so many lives off of my hands. I am a murderer, a thief, a horrible man, but has anyone ever sinned so badly as to be forced to live forever?

They cut me, I heal, but the pain is still there. I wash the blood away, but it still stains my mind, driving me towards the edge of my sanity's limit. I close my eyes, but I can still see the blue sky. I can see it as it was before, before we all grew cold, before we all grew cruel. And somehow, I like the world better this way. Now I don't stick out, because now I am not considered evil. In a world where everybody gets only what they get for themselves, I'm suddenly not the bad guy.

Trapped forever, exactly like I was the day I died. Damned to eternity for a crime. Nobody can defeat me. I hate it. Nobody can harm me. I despise it. Nobody can kill me. I loathe it. And yet, it's still all my fault. As long as I am still the boy I used to be I can not die. As long as I am arrogant and stubborn I heal. As long as I do not know the essence of loving someone, and having hem love me back I stay here. Bound to this life, bound to this planet, bound to suffer, for all of eternity.

So every day and night, I look up at the mysterious blue sky above us and wait. Wait for the day I don't have see it anymore, but knowing today won't be the last day I see it because I will always be alive to see it. Because all I have loved have never loved me in return, and all who love me I never love.

I can still remember who I am in this day and age. I am the young lord who owns this grand territory. It is my duty to keep the peace and feed the people. It is my duty to protect them from invaders and such. But that doesn't mean I do it. After all, everybody dies one day, so does it really matter how they die? A smirk enters my mind at that thought. Everybody dies, except me. They don't look for death, but death comes after them. I search for death, but it eludes me every time. I don't have the luxury of an afterlife, even one in hell.

My footsteps echo down the halls of my stone castle. They exude arrogance, cruelty, and strength. They are exactly who I am. I stroll outside and look at the bright blue sky, still darker yet. Maybe one day it will match the shade of my heart, black. I'll probably still be alive to see it to. Lifting my head to the sky I laugh. I outstretch my arms to embrace it, and I curse the gods who trapped me hear. I was a far better person as a human than I ever will be now. Their plan backfired. They didn't heal me, I got worse.

The sky is so beautiful. So very beautiful. And yet it makes up my cage. It is what I strive to reach and can never attain. Two hundred years of Hell on Earth. I will never reach the sky, but I can try. I can always try.

In the middle of my reverie an arrow hits me. I gasp in pain. It hit me in the chest. Right where my heart is, right where my heart pumps blood. The pain is immense as blood flows from my body, though I feel no lethargy. I cannot feel the demons of death coming to take me to hell. Nobody's had the nerve to harm my for quite a while. The pain fells good, so very good.

I roughly pull the arrow from my chest, crushing it in my hand. The wound heals instantly, the skin reforming, without scars over my pale skin. I hear a rustle in the surrounding brush and grab an arm. I pull a small girl out from under it, the bow and arrow in her hand. She has bright green eyes and light blonde hair. She's clutching onto her sister, who is a redhead with violet eyes. Despite the difference in hair aand eye color, they look extremely similar.

"Who are you, and why do you dare to try and assassinate your king?" I ask. The girls shake before me, probably fearing for their lives. Finally, the redheaded one speaks.

"My name is Kairi, and I came to kill you, King Riku, because you are an evil man. Your people are starving, and they can't even afford enough money to buy bread. My parents are dead because of you, and we'll die if you keep doing this to us! My brother is sick because of you!" She's interesting. I wonder if she really knows the truth. Maybe I can help her find out.

"Everybody dies little girl. I could give you all the food in the world and you'd still die. Everybody dies someday." Everybody besides me. Kairi pales. She suddenly sees the blood stain on my shirt.

"I thought we missed you. If we hit you, then why are you still alive." I smirk and grab my sword from the hilt. Kairi and her sister try to struggle from my grip, but I have two hundred years of strength on them and they're weak and malnourished.

I turn the sword on myself and slice my arm open. Slight pain like this doesn't hurt anymore, but Kairi and her sister still look shocked. I can see their eyes widen in wonder and horror as the wound instantly closes itself, completely healed.

"How?" Kairi asks. My smirk becomes broader.

"When I said everybody dies, I lied. Everybody dies besides me. I doomed to a fate far worse. I'm doomed to live." I watch their disbelieving expressions.

"You're wrong," the silent girl whispers. "Living is always better than death." She really thinks so, doesn't she? I laugh.

"I like you two. How about this? I'll allow you to stay at my castle, but you must never leave without my permission." Kairi and the other girl nod, and then Kairi asks me a question.

"Can I bring my brother and his nurse?" She asks. Her voice is timid, not like the strong will she expressed just five minutes ago.

"Do as you wish." I let go of them, and the younger one embraces me, clinging on to me.

"Thank you so much." I don't get why she's thanking me. She'll die eventually, just like every one else. I'm just enabling her to live a bit longer.

"Think nothing of it. This is not an act of kindness. If you had said no I would've forced you to go." The girl smiles. She grabs my hand, something nobody has ever dared to do for two hundred years, and she drags me off towards the village. I think I've been to the village once, and that was when I took it over. It looks nothing like it did before. Before people were on the streets happily shopping, and everybody was healthy. Now the streets are desolate. The only people on the streets are bone thin and haggard in appearance. They are wearing rags much like the two girls I'm with.

The houses are run down, dilapidated structures that need major repairs. Repairs that these people can obviously not afford. Here the sky isn't even blue, it's gray, barren like the landscape. But what do I even care? Everybody dies. I just miss the blue of the sky.

Finally we come to a run down house on the edge of the village. It's in horrible shape, the wood is crumbling in on it, and a good storm would probably blow it away. They live so poorly, yet they are so full of life. How?

Kairi pushes the door open, and surprisingly the house doesn't fall down. "Selphie! Where are you?" A cheery girl walks out. She can't be older than thirteen. How could she be a nurse?

"Yes Kairi?" She asks, with an oddly happy voice. She sees me and drops into a bow.

"Your Majesty King Riku! Whatever they did, I'm so sorry! Please forgive them!" I almost laugh at her groveling.

"Get up girl." I tell her. She pops to her feet, still in an odd half bow. Peasants, why bother?

"So, where is your brother?" I ask coldly, my voice not expressing any emotion. Kairi leads me into the only other room of their 'house.'

I can see a boy, probably about 15, a year younger than I was when I died, or at least when I was supposed to die. He's scrawny and tan, though he looks feverish. He's obviously sick from the unhealthy flush of his cheeks, but with cinnamon spiky hair he looks…Cute.

"Kairi, Namine, is that you two?" He asks weakly. He opens his eyes, and I see his eyes. Eyes the color of freedom. Eyes so blue they put sapphires to shame. Wide eyes, filled with innocence and naiveté, something I lost a long time ago. Eyes filled with goodness and light beyond compare. Eyes that though much deeper, remind me of the light of the sky, two hundred years ago when this world was still pure.

"King Riku, this is Sora, my twin brother." Sora… Doesn't that mean sky. It suits him. Sky. Something tells me these four little misfits are going to make things much more interesting, especially the one named sky.

He tries to get up on wobbly legs that can't possibly support his weight, and surprising even myself I catch him before he falls. Why? Why did I do that? Is it because of his eyes or his name. I push that thought to the back of my mind. It's all a coincidence. Besides, I'm beyond emotion. I can never love again. There's no reason even trying, after all, I can't love anymore. Two hundred years is a long time to be alone, and I don't think I can be together with another human again. I lift him into my arms. He's very light, probably from the brutal conditions out here, not that I care of course.

"Let's go," I say. "This place smells like peasant. I don't want to stay in this filthy place for any longer than I have to." I start to walk out, the boy in my arms, but his innocent voice stops me.

"Where are we going?" He asks,

"Hn," I reply. "For some reason, you're going to come live with me." The boy named Sky looks shocked. His innocent eyes are wide.

"In that case, can I say goodbye?" I really don't want to stay around this place any longer than necessary, but those eyes…

"Who do you want to say goodbye to?" I ask, feigning a voice that clearly states 'I don't care'.

"Nobody, just my home." I look at the run down hut they used to live in. Why would he want to say goodbye to that old thing?

"Why?" I ask. He looks up at me.

"This place holds memories. It's my home." I still don't know what he means, but I stay a second longer, allowing the boy named Sky to wave back to it. Then I carry him off, back towards my palace, the girls trailing after us like servants.

On instinct, I look up at the sky. Is it just me, or does the sky look just a little more blue than it did before?

**Heaven**

"Finally," one of the beings says. He has long silver hair, the exact same shade as Riku's. He looks very bored, like he's been doing this for a very long time, which is probably true.

"It took him two hundred freaking years!" Another god shouts. She has short, trimmed brown hair shaped around her face. She seems extremely hyperactive.

"Patience Sephiroth, Yuffie. We don't know if anything will happen," another voice says. His brown hair is about the same length as Yuffie's, and his blue-gray eyes hold certain gruffness to them that make him seem like a very cold man.

"Leon is right," the last god speaks. "He may have been around for two hundred years, but he is still the same sixteen year old boy we punished long ago." This one has spiky blonde hair and twinkling blue eyes, though his aren't as innocent as Sora's are. Like the rest of the gods, his hold a deep pain that is latent for the time being.

The first god, the one named Sephiroth, grins. He looks slightly lazy and uncaring. "I give it two weeks. Before the end of the month, Riku will join us, along with Sora. It is the time of urgency. If this doesn't work, then we must leave him forever and move on."

The female god, Yuffie, shudders. "I don't like the second option. That can't be our hero. He's evil!" She says this with such compassion that her statement must move anyone who hears this.

The blonde god, Cloud, speaks. "It doesn't matter what our opinion is. If it were up to me, I wouldn't have selected either of them. This is what is meant to be, so we just have to watch and see what happens. There's almost nothing we can do now. It's up to them."

Leon snorts. "So does this mean the fate of the worlds is held in the hands of five miss-fit teenagers? Somehow, I'm not comforted. And what do you mean we can do almost nothing? Name one thing we can do?"

The graceful silver-headed god, Sephiroth, answers this. "The blonde girl. She has power. We can contact her in times of need. She can be our…medium." Everybody pauses at this and there's silence in the conference room. The mirror allowing them to view Riku's world changes to a pit of darkness. Despair reeks from it in waves.

"Now," says Cloud, "to look at the second option." Yuffie shudders and Leon shifts uncomfortably. Sephiroth just smiles a mysterious smile. He seems to know something that nobody else does, but he doesn't reveal the information.

"I trust the one named sky," he says.

**Sora**

Everything's warm. It's not feverish warm, but it's comfortable. Strong arms carry me, and I can feel a muscular chest. I snuggle closer to whoever this person is, and look up at him slowly. He's gorgeous. Silver white hair frames his pale face, a few rebellious bangs hanging across his face. High cheekbones give him a strong yet somehow slightly feminine look, and pale pink lips are turned down in a frown.

His most amazing feature has to be his eyes, his amazing aqua eyes. They're pale and cold, but underneath them I can see pain and regret. Whoever he is, he regrets what he's done. I can't really remember anything before waking up just now, but I know that we're going to live with him. Those amazing eyes catch mine in a glare.

"What are you staring at?" He asks. His voice is cold, but just like his eyes, it's hiding something.

"Fine, if you don't want to answer me, you can walk." He drops me, but the impact with the ground doesn't hurt as much as I thought it would. The ground is covered with leaves and it softens the impact. I stand. My legs feel like jelly, but I can stand on my own.

I walk beside the handsome yet cold stranger, and suddenly I wonder where Kairi, Namine, and Selphie are. "They walked up ahead of us." He says dispassionately. Can he read minds?

"No, I can't read minds. You're just really obvious." He's confusing. Suddenly my legs almost give out, but before they collapse completely, the stranger is holding me up.

"You walk to slowly, hold on." Somehow I end up on his back, and he grips my legs with his hands. I blush, this is a rather compromising situation. He starts running, a fast jog, traveling elegantly through the forest as if my weight is nothing. His pace is steady, and it's almost as if the ground is moving under us and he's not moving. He's also in great shape. He's not panting or anything. Suddenly a branch tears his skin, and I gap, it looks serious, but he doesn't stop moving. I focus on his arm. Just moments after it heals completely, without even a scar. How is that possible?

Soon we're at his palace, a bigger place than I've ever seen, a bigger place than I've ever dreamed of seeing. The turrets are well kept and give the place a very depressing yet majestic look. The place gives off a sense of pride, and it is much like it's owner. Speaking of which, the said person drops me.

"Hey!" I shout when my but hits the ground. That hurts!

He turns back to me with a glare on his face. "You will not 'hey' me. You will address me with respect. My name is Riku, and you will call me like that."

Riku, it's an odd name, but it suits him somehow. "Yes Ri-ku!" I annunciate the syllables of his name. He stiffens, but doesn't comment. He walks back towards the castle with perfect posture. He moves elegantly, almost as if he's gliding. He's very graceful, for a guy. He also has a very arrogant posture that seems to scream, 'I'm better than you are!' I hate people like that. They think they're better than other people because of social class. Somehow though, it seems different than that. He wears a black tunic over black leggings and black knee high boots. Even his sword is black, and it looks like a demon's wing. He wears a golden chain with a ruby gemstone as a pendant. The color of the pendant reminds me of blood.

Soon we're inside his castle, and I notice something. There's no one else here. "The others are bathing, and I suggest you do the same. You smell of peasant." I glare at him for that, but he looks like he doesn't really care. "The bathing areas are over there. Meet me back here in an hour, and here are some clothes." He hands me a bundle of clothes I hadn't noticed before. There's a blue tunic that will go well with my eyes, black leggings and boots. The clothing is simple, nothing like the clothes of other nobles, but it's silk and therefor very expensive. I take the clothes, muttering quick thanks before I go to the bathing areas.

The water is warm, and I sink in, allowing the warm water to relax my body before I grab scented soaps and scrub myself clean. Years of grime and filth come off, staining the bath water. Now I know what Riku was talking about when he said I smelled like a peasant. He must of thought I was disgusting, and he's probably burning his clothes right now. Such a shame too, since the clothes looked hot on him.

I climb out and dress in the elegant clothing, it's rich fabric smooth against my skin. It feels so nice. I climb out to see Riku waiting for me. He hands me some food, and I grab the meat and bread, digging in. I haven't eaten such rich food ever. Riku raises an eyebrow.

"Your sleeping chambers are beside mine. Across from you are your sisters and on your other side is the annoying nurse girl." It's Selphie.

"Selphie," I say.

"Excuse me?" He asks, a tiny bit of surprise flickering in his eyes.

"Her name is Selphie. And my sisters are Kairi and Namine." He rolls his eyes.

"Whatever." This makes me angry. How can he possibly think he's better than the rest of us because of his social class? I don't say anything though. He took us in and is harboring us. Plus, he has a very fine ass. Is this the man my sisters want to kill? He doesn't seem all to bad.

When he shows me to my room, I don't waste time oohing and awwing. I collapse into the giant bed, not even under the covers and am immediately falling asleep. I don't know if Riku stays or not, but someone tucks me in, making sure I'm warm. I want to say thank you but all that comes out is a yawn.

I think I can hear his voice. He says, "goodnight, boy named sky."


	2. My Friend the Murderer

Hi guys! I'm back with chapter two! Thanx for the reviews!

Mujyakina-Hitokoroshiya: Thanx! Glad you liked it! Don't worry, when I really like something, I usually update a lot! Have you read my other KH fic, Painful Salvation?

Thundersisiter: Thanx! Love what you said about the whole poetic touch thing! I try to do that to the entries of all my stories!

Kuramasgirl13: Thank you! Your attention is very valuable! Hope you like this chapter!

Animefreak14: Grrr… I'm jealous! I want a motorcycle! Thanx for the review!

Lordkagome: No! Please not the bunny! Anything else, but just let's all ave the bunnies! Actually, after reading Watership Down, you can kill it…

Kmsweetness: Thanx! Don't worry! I will!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, and I'm not making any money off of the publication of this fanfic.**

**Riku**

"Die," I whisper. The woman screams until her head leaves her body, now a lifeless lump lying over the ground. I turn to face my next opponent, a bristling man with blonde hair. He lunges at me, but I expertly dodge and run the sword through his gut, almost cringing at the sickening sound of metal being forced through the human's body.

"_Bastard," the man growls, before he dies as well, joining his comrades in their sleep. _

"I'll only stop if you give her back!" I yell. Even though the man is dead, he seems to grin at me from his sleep. He knows that I'll never get her back, never. If only I had done something sooner.

I awaken with a gasp, wiping the sweat from my brow. It's always the nightmares, always. As if they don't torment me enough by keeping me alive, they have to make me suffer in my subconscious as well.

Knowing the answer to that particular question, I lie back and fall asleep.

Another day, another day stuck on this awful earth. People say that as you get older, the days grow shorter, but for me it's exactly the opposite. I can remember everyday more clearly than the last. I stretch lazily, like a cat, as I get up.

Slowly I walk towards my wardrobe, and lazily I wonder what I'm going to wear today. Usually I only wear simple clothes as I have no will to dress in anything fancier, but with those peasants here, I might as well make an impression, especially with the boy named sky. After all, they might stick around for seventy years or so, so I might want to show them who's boss. Instead of my regular loose fitting black tunic, I decide to wear a tighter fitting one, with braies over hose. I keep the boots, and I grab my sword, soul eater, from its place and strap it to my waist. I have no use for armor, of course, because I cannot be harmed.

I stroll out of my room, my footsteps echoing in the empty halls. I listen to the cruelty in every step, a reminder of why I am here, of why I am caged. Other footsteps join mine, and I listen to them. They are light and airy, though weighed down with sickness. They radiate childhood innocence and naivete, though Sora's not a child by regular human means.

"Tell me boy, do you have any knowledge of how to defend yourself?" I ask. It's been a long time since I've sparred anybody. Not that I care, or even want human companionship. No, that isn't the reason I brought them here. It was just because they are all very interesting. I could crush them in a second if I really wanted to.

"Some," is his answer. I didn't realize the peasants had any training.

"My parents died when I was six, so someone had to take care of them." He probably means his sisters and that nurse of his.

"After all, the king never saw fit to see to his people." For some reason that angers me. In a second the boy is pinned to the wall, innocent eyes staring at me with fear. He thinks I'm going to kill him. Some part of me weeps for that, but I ignore it. He's only a mortal boy. He's just a simple mortal boy who will eventually die.

I glare at him, but suddenly part of me freezes. The clothes I gave him, they suit him. The blue of the shirt makes his eyes even brighter, and without all the dirt on him, he's quite pretty with plump pink lips and tan skin. I keep my composure. Just because the boy is more attractive than most doesn't excuse his rude behavior.

"Listen here boy. I asked you a question, and I did not need the reason behind why you learned to fight. I don't care about your parents, or the rest of you pitiful people. It would make no difference to me if you lived or died. So if you don't want to die, hold your tongue." I drop him to the ground and walk away.

A soft sniffling stops me. He's crying. "How dare you say that! Just because you're a noble, that doesn't mean you're better than us! Anyone can be born into royalty and live an easy life!" He thinks my life has been easy. My life has contained pain beyond anything he could ever compare to. I remember when my heart was still soft. They all died, from old age, disease, murder, and I couldn't follow them. I didn't even have the choice.

"Don't talk about things you don't understand," I tell him coldly. He just stares at me. Then he smiles, a breathtaking sight. His smile lights up a room.

"So are we still going to spar?" He asks. I grin, but only slightly.

"Only if you are prepared to lose." Some of my old arrogance is coming back as I lead him to the courtyards. I told him a sword from the small armory, and he catches it expertly. By now, his sisters and the nurse have come to watch.

"Kick his ass Sora!" Selphie laughs, jumping up and down. Foolish woman, I should behead her, but somehow I know there isn't any real fire behind that mental threat. Sora and I face each other, and he has a large grin on his face. I'll wipe that grin off his face.

He attacks first, sword held in sloppy hands. I easily dodge his first hit, and block the second one. His face is scrunched in concentration while I remain perfectly calm. "Is that it? I thought you said you could fight."

He glares at me, lunging straight at me with the sword held out. The move is horribly obvious, but he has potential, given time and proper training. I knock the sword out of his hand, and watch it fling through the air before it lands with a solid thump on the ground. I move my sword to Sora's neck, and he stops.

"You're pathetic," I tell him, grinning. He glares at me, but it comes out as more as a pout, about as dangerous as a squirrel. Then again, those things are evil buggers.

"Let's try this again. This time I'll even change weapons." I throw Soul Eater to the ground and walk towards the armory. I look around and decide on my two favorite weapons. They're the ones she used. Despite being over two hundred years old, they gleam as if they're newly forged. After all, they belonged to her, and I still respect her. The swords are elegantly crafted, clearly fit better for a woman's hand, but I use them perfectly. Unlike Soul Eater, a bulky weapon, these are slim and light, more like an extension of my arm.

I walk back out to see Sora waiting for me. Without warning he lunges at me, but I easily dodge it, flipping backwards ad rushing forwards to attack him before he can move. Once again his sword is sent flying, and once again my sword is at his throat.

"Lesson one. Wait for your opponent. Analyze their moves and use their weaknesses against them." Sora nods, panting, but I'm not even phased. He doesn't seem sick anymore. All he needed was a warm bed and a good wash.

Next battle, he waits, and I take the chance to show off, spinning my swords tauntingly. He finally loses patience and lunges, but this time it's not blind. I block with one arm, swinging the other up to knock his sword away, but he expects the move and leaps away. He lunges again, and I duck under his swing, dropping one of my swords in order to punch him in the gut. If I wasn't feeling merciful I could've just impaled him. He falls to the ground, and before he can leap to his feet, a sword is at his throat.

"Rule two. Don't over extend your attacks. It gives your opponent an advantage." He nods, and stands up, brushing my hand away when I offer to help him up. His outfit is stained with dirt, but it's relatively cheap anyway, so it doesn't matter much.

This time I attack first. He manages to block my first and second hit, and he dodges my third hit. He swings the sword at me again, much more controlled than the first time. I leap up, flipping over his head to land behind him. A sword goes to his back, and once again I've defeated him.

"Rule number three. Never underestimate your opponent." I smile, and he grins, a cheesy grin but his eyes radiate with innocence.

"I'll do that, as long as you promise not to underestimate me." I smirk. This Sora, maybe he isn't as dense as I thought he was.

"Can do."

**Sora**

I can't believe this! He beat me fifteen times in two hours! I was champion of the village contests, but I'm no match for him! He's fast, graceful, and strong. My stomach still aches from his punch, and he only hit me once! This guy is amazing! No wonder he never wears any armor!

Plus the clothes he was wearing. They were much more elegant the ones he was wearing yesterday. Ths cloak billowed around him, giving a mysterious look. The tunic under it was still loose on him, but when he sweat it clung to him like a second skin, showing off his curves and his fantastic muscle definition. The only disappointment had to be the pants. They were much too baggy. I liked the tight ones he wore yesterday, they really showed off his ass.

I run over to my sisters and Selphie. They're in new clothes, long, rich dresses in bright colors. Selphie's is yellow, and she trimmed it to be shorter than it was meant to be. Figures. Selphie's always acted like a guy, she even fights! Kairi's dress is lavender and Namine's is pure white. They don't look like my sisters anymore they look like rich nobles. On queue my stomach growls.

"I wonder what's for lunch?" I ask. Kairi shrugs.

"Who knows. I haven't seen anyone besides the five of us around since we got here. This place is weird." I agree, but there have to be other people here. Otherwise why would Riku have so much space?

"Well let's go look!" I exclaim excitedly. I always love to explore, and in a huge castle like this, who knows what we'll find.

"Sure!" Selphie shouts, hopping up and down. I swear that girl is more hyper than I am, and that's serious.

"I guess I'm in." Kairi says, smiling. We all turn to Namine. She's so silent. She hasn't said much since mother and father died. She was there, and she saw it happen. I don't even want to know what happened, because finding them their was enough to make me sick. But I don't want to think about it. Why dwell on the past when the future can be so much more promising?

We run back to the castle, tripping over the fancy shoes we have yet to get used to and giggling all the way. This place is so beautiful, yet so desolate. I wonder, what could be here that we don't know about? What secrets could this mysterious place hide, and what could Riku be hiding?

Even as a child, I could always tell the difference between good and evil, and somehow, I don't think Riku is evil.

**Riku**

How unusual, they're laughing. What do they have to laugh about? At any second they could die, and at any second anything could happen. They've been starved, deserted, and sick, so how can they smile? These people are unusual. I'll keep them around for awhile more.

Turning, I look to the meal I've had prepared. I haven't had to eat for quite sometime, but in order for my guests fragile health they must eat. I had to go to the storage area to find food. It's simple really. Bread, aged wine, cheese, and some sort of meat make up the meal. It's not much, but we all die sometime anyway, so why eat anything extravagant? It won't matter in the afterlife.

The misfits rush in and eye the food with hungry eyes. They lunge in, attacking it as if they've never seen food before. It's pathetic, how they act, but yet somehow it's endearing, having people sit at this lonely table again. It brings back memories, memories I'd rather not bring back. In less than five minutes the food is gone, and there are four very satisfied peasants sitting at my table. Namine walks up to me and bows.

"Thank you," is all she says before she walks out of the room. What a weird girl.

"She watched mom and dad die," Sora explains. Maybe she knows more about pain and death than I thought she did, but still, she's just a human who will die one day. There's no point in getting attached.

"Did I ask you to say anything?" I question.

"No," he answers, "but I could see it in your eyes." So he thinks he knows me huh?

"So, you want to spar?" Maybe he does know me, just a little.

That night is weird. My body feels weary, but I can't fall asleep. Every time I close my eyes I see his face, those eyes, that body. He's so innocent, so beautiful, so untainted. There's something about these peasants, they're changing me, and yet somehow I don't mind. Two hundred years is a long time to be alone.

I can still see him struggling to defeat me, sweat pouring down his face and his tunic, ruined. His right hand clenching his sword as if his life depended on it, and the determined look on his face. Over the day he got better, in an impressive amount of time.

Maybe one day, he'll be a good fighter, but he still needs much more training. Finally, sleep finds me as I gaze up at the midnight blue sky. For once, my last vision before sleep wasn't the massacred bodies of the past. For some reason I can see Sora's face.

This boy named sky, he must be putting me under some sort of spell because I can't get him off my mind. Though somehow I don't mind. These four, that boy, somehow they're different.

**Heaven**

"So, do you think we'll still have to consider the second option now?" Sephiroth grins.

"Maybe," Leon replies. "It'll all depend on what happens next." The four gods are sitting in a circle, around the mirror that allows them to see down onto the mortal plain.

"Do you think we should warn them?" Yuffie asks, sounding concerned. Cloud looks at her before speaking.

"What would they say?" He asks. Sephiroth grins. He shifts slightly, still as bored as ever.

'Who cares what they say. We're supposed to do anything possible to get the boy on our side." Leon glares at him.

"It might not matter if they decide to kill us all," he replies. Yuffie looks very nervous.

"I've already died once, I don't want to die again." Leon looks at her, keeping his silence. For once, everything is silent in the white abyss, until Sephiroth's voice breaks that silence.

"It doesn't matter. We've found the light of the darkness and the darkness of the light, so they can't touch us now." The other three nod in agreement. It seems a decision has been made.

"So, what do we do?" Yuffie asks. Cloud glances at her, then to the mirror which holds a window to the sleeping Riku.

"What do you think we do? We must summon our medium." The picture changes to Namine, staring straight up into the window. It's almost as if she's aware of the situation, but then again, perhaps she is. Namine has always been a mysterious child.

"So, how do we tell her?" Cloud asks. Once again, Sephiroth grins.

"Let me do it." He leans over the mirror, whispering words in a language none of them have ever heard before. Namine nods slightly and falls asleep.

"What did you tell her?" Leon asks.

"Only what needs to be said."

**Sora**

It's been one week since we got here. One week of sparring, eating good meals, and exploring. Today, Riku's taking his ritual morning bath, and we're not to disturb him. I wait impatiently outside his personal bathing area, the sword he gave me in hand. I tap it against my thigh, eager for Riku to get out so we can start our training.

Silently, he heads my way, and my jaw drops to the floor. I had always thought Riku dressed before he came out of his private bathing area. Right now he's wearing only a cloth around his waste, and it doesn't leave mush to imagination.

Droplets of water cascade down his bare chest, traveling over his muscles and sown into the cloth bellow, going even further where I have only my imagination to guide me. He's very skinny, and without his loose baggy clothing, I can see his slim waist line. It has to be a sin to look that good.

"Sora?" He asks. His voice has gotten slightly less cold, but it's still frigid enough to freeze a fire. I draw my eyes away from his pale pink lips, trying to clear my thoughts.

"Yes, Riku," I answer, my voice sounding innocent and masking all of the very naughty thoughts I'm having. He turns slightly, and I can see hi very nice ass. If only the towel would slip just a little.

'Are you going to leave me alone so I can get dressed, or would you prefer to watch?" He grins when he says this, an eyebrow raised slightly in amusement. As much as I would love to watch him, he's probably kill me if I said I'd like to watch. I walk out through the door and into the hallway.

"Oh, and Sora, wipe the drool off your face." I blush angrily. That jerk, having the nerve to insult me like that. He may have the greatest body I've ever seen, but he's a total prick. Soon he joins me in the hall, properly dressed, though he's wearing tights again so I get a spectacular view of his ass.

He beckons for me to follow him, and I do, though I stay behind him so I can watch his ass. Is it just me, or is he purposely swinging his hips like that.

Soon we get to the training field, and as usual, Riku grabs the two slim swords, staring at tem affectionately for a second before he steps onto the field. We face each other, and I lunge. I always attack first. As usual, he dodges my swing, but when he tries to counter it I bring my sword up to defend against him. Riku pushes against me and I'm forced back, taking steps backwards as he takes his forwards, until I trip over a log behind me. How embarrassing!

I fall to the ground, landing on my back with a "Hmm," and a second later, someone else drops on top of me. Riku? He must have been putting his entire weight against mine, and when I fell over, so did he. He pushes himself up, looking down at me with amusement in his eyes. Our position is very…awkward. Riku's straddling me, arms on either side of my head, and I'm lying bellow him, blushing. I know because of the warmth on my cheeks. Riku's also blushing, just the slightest bit so that I can barely tell, but the sight of him like that is making me very uncomfortable. If Riku were to look down, he'd find something I doubt he'd appreciate. Then again, he has one too.

Our little moment is broken when Selphie tackles Riku and starts tickling him. She runs her hands up his sides, and for a moment I think he's going to kill her, but then the weirdest thing happens. He laughs. He's laughing so hard tears are flowing from his eyes and he's shaking. Grinning, I jump on him too, tickling him in the same place as Selphie. I'm so engrossed in seeing Riku's laughing face that I barely notice Selphie leaving. However, Riku certainly does.

He bucks his hips into mine and I gasp, but Riku plays it off as an accident. He rolls us over, one arm pinning my arms above my head as he mercilessly tickles me with the other one. Up and down my sides, on my stomach, even a little lower, to the waistline of my pants. I gasp, arching my back into his hand when…

Splash! A huge wave of ice cold water is splattered over us, and I look up to see Selphie and Kairi, holding a giant bucket and looking immensely pleased with themselves. In their arms is a huge bucket that was most probably once filled with water. Riku gets off of me, and the laughter is gone from his eyes. The sparkle went out and now it's replaced with his regular cold look.

He walks inside indifferently, and I stare after him. What happened to the happy Riku who was just recently here. I glare at Selphie and Kairi who look completely confused, before I suddenly sneeze. The cold air outside isn't good for my drenched body. My sneeze is followed by a fit of coughing and more sneezing. I attempt to get up, only to fall back to the ground. I can see Riku running back out, and soon after, everything becomes swirly and I black out.

**Riku**

I calmly carry the unconscious boy back to his room and feel his forehead. He's burning up with fever. He tosses and turns in my arms, mumbling inarticulate ramblings. I set him on his bed and make sure he's comfortable. Not that I actually care if he's comfortable or not. Selphie comes into the room with another bucket of cool water and some wash cloths. I take them from her.

"Go make him some soup," I order, and she runs off. I glare at Kairi and Namine who are looking worriedly at Sora and say, "What are you waiting for? Go help her." They rush off, and I look to Sora.

He slowly opens his eyes and sees me. "Ri-ku?" He asks drearily. I nod. I take one of the wash clothes and put it on his head, waiting for the fever to break. Sora just stares at me, and we do this for about thirty minutes. There's no talking, just sitting, but somehow, looking into his eyes and seeing him is calming, and I know that I can't let him die. Not this way, not yet. I don't know why, but a small part of my heart doesn't ant him to die. It's the first part of my heart to work in years. Not that I care, I never actually care. I just don't want him to die because it would be a shame to have his talent with a sword wasted. It's not like I actually care for him, right?

Selphie nearly runs into me, carrying a huge jug of soup. "Master Riku, would you like to let me take care of Sora?" I shake me head and she leaves the room, followed by Kairi and Namine.

Slowly, I spoon feed Sora, and wipe of any soup when it drips down his chin. I don't care for him…It's become my mantra, a saying to keep me sane. I really don't care. I replace the cool wash cloth on his head and turn t leave, but a weak grasp on my arm stops me.

"I don't want to be alone," Sora tells me. I nod and pull up a chair to sit next to Sora. He staring longingly at the books that adorn his shelves. His eyes look so friendly, just like the sky of long ago. Not that I care.

"Do you want me to get you a book?" I ask. He shakes his head no.

"Can you read me a book?" He questions, hope in his eyes. I glare at him for no particular reason.

"Can't you read the book yourself?" It's seems like the most obvious question in the world, but Sora shakes his head.

"No, I can't read." That's a surprise, then again, most of the peasants have no need of the skill. Sighing as if in exasperation, I grab a book from one of the shelves. I look at the title. You got to be kidding me. King Arthur and The Knights of the Round Table? I didn't even know I owned this book. With a sigh I began to read.

Sora stared at me while I read, eyes filled with innocent wonder. Somehow while I was reading, Sora grabbed my hand. This made it very hard to turn pages, but somehow, the feel of his warm hand over mine was comforting. It makes me feel warm inside, something I haven't felt in a long time. When Sora falls asleep I gently slip his hand from mine and start to walk out of his room, but his voice stops me.

"Don't leave me alone," he whimpers. Is he up? I check, but he's asleep. I guess I can stay for a little longer… Taking his hand back into mine, I sit in the chair next to his bed. I'm not going to fall asleep here… My eyes close, and despite my internal protests, I'm out in about five seconds.

I open my tired eyes and stretch. I'm all cramped up! I roll my neck and shoulders, hearing the bones crack. Last night I didn't have a nightmare last night, and that's always a good thing. Looking around, I notice I'm not in my room. This room is smaller, and it's messy. My room is never messy. Sighing, I remember why I'm here. Sora's lying there sleeping, with a fresh rag on his forehead. That's good. Selphie and the others must not trust my to take care of their little brother, so they're probably doing it themselves.

I sigh and stretch again. Note to self: never sleep on I straight back chair. I look over to Sora and feel a strange warmth in my heart. No, I can't feel this way because he doesn't love me. He is physically attracted to me, I know that from my experiments yesterday, but he doesn't love me, so there's no reason to love him. It'll only be unrequited.

Suddenly Namine walks in. Out of all of them, I know the least about her. Selphie's a hyperactive girl who loves the other three with all of her heart. She's sweet, caring, and the perfect friend, with a mischievous streak of course. Kairi's calmer then Selphie, with a girlish laugh. She seems weak, but she has a strong will. That was proven on the first day I met her and she talked back to me. She's also Sora's twin. I know nothing about Namine. She's just…quiet. I don't even know if she's older or younger than Sora and Namine. She's a mystery to me. I don't even think Sora and Kairi know her to well, though she follows Kairi everywhere.

"Yes," I address her. She looks at me with a strange glint in her sad eyes, like the gods have given her the knowledge of the future, yet she's unable to stop anything from happening.

"Riku, you must believe. Don't give up so easily. It'll all be worth it someday." Before I ask her what she means, she leaves. Damn mysterious girl… I go out into the hallway, but she's vanished. How can that be, she only left a second ago and I never heard any doors open or close, so where did she go?

"Riku?" Kairi asks. Namine is huddled behind her, silent as usual. Kairi's holding up some soup for Sora.

"How did you get there?" I ask Namine suspiciously. She just huddles father behind her sister who puts an arm in front of her and looks at me with confused eyes.

"What are you talking about? Namine has been downstairs with me for the last half hour." I glare at Namine, but she only gives me one of those looks.

"Whatever," I say, walking into my room. I smell of peasant, I smell of Sora. I need to get the scent off. Not that Sora smells bad, in fact, he smells like fresh bread just risen and he smells of home. I don't know exactly know what home smells like, but he smells comforting, like a place I don't want to leave. I guess that's why I associate him with home.

I slip my clothes off and lower myself into the steaming bath. Slowly, Sora's scent comes off, and I feel happy and sorrowful at the same time. Happy because I'm free of outside influence, and sad because… I just feel sad.

There is not sparring that day as I spend it pretending not to care that Sora's sick while checking in on him every minute. He's not getting better. His fever's become higher, the coughing sounds he makes in the back of his throat are now a constant melody through the halls.

I open his door and peek in.

"You now, you don't have to stay out all the time," Sora says. His voice is haggard and weak. I enter the room and sit down on a chair by his bed, or at least I try to. Selphie and Kairi are sleeping at the chair's foot, and they look exhausted.

"They were watching over me all day," he tells me. I nod. Slowly, I pick up Selphie, acting as if she were a china doll, even though I know she isn't. Somehow the cheery girl seems important, but I can't place why.

Soon both of them are in bed, and I go back to Sora's room. "I'm doing fine," he tells me, as if I asked something. I just nod, feigning boredom.

"So, what's up?" He asks.

"The sky," I answer. What else could he mean?

"How are you doing?" He tries again.

"Good," I reply. Maybe he'll get it through his thick skull that I don't want to talk.

"Oh," is all he says. He seems to be thinking, so I look over to the book. He doesn't know how to read. How is that possible? He seems to see what I'm looking at, and he blushes.

"Hey Riku, can you teach me?" He asks shyly. I stare at the book, and then to his hopeful face. With a sigh I give in.

"Sure," I tell him. I grab a piece of paper and a feathered pen off the desk by his bed and set it on the book. I write a symbol on the paper and show it to him.

"This is the letter A, and it's the first letter of the alphabet. It makes an ah sound or a 'a' sound." Sora nods and I hand him the paper and pen. He grips the pen like a dagger and stabs the paper, tearing it and smearing ink everywhere, including his cheek. I almost want to laugh at him. His eyes are wide and he's staring at the pen. Finally I let out my laugh and lean forward. I need to get the ink off his face.

He blushes at our close proximity, and then I wipe the smudge of ink off his face. "You goon. You don't hold a pen like it's a dagger." He glares at me, lips coming out for a pout.

"Fine Mr. I-know-it-all, how do you do it?" I grab his hand and the pen and frown.

"You're left-handed, aren't you?" I ask.

"Yeah, so what?" She was left-handed…

"Nothing," I answer. No need in telling him that. I position his hand around the pen and dip it in ink. Then I bring our hands to the paper and trace an A. It comes out perfectly in my meticulous handwriting, though it has a slightly different curve than my usual letters do. Somehow, Sora gives his letters personality, instead of them being just letters on a paper.

"Like this?" he asks, dipping his pen in the ink. He turns it around and the ink flies everywhere, a huge blob of it landing on my face. Sora bursts out laughing. I grin evilly.

"You think that's funny do you?" I question, my eyes still glaring mischievously.

"Yeah," he laughs. Oh he does, doesn't he? I grab the inkbottle from him and pour it in his hair. A now black haired Sora glares at me, looking about as threatening as a bunny rabbit. He shakes his head, sending ink all over me. I grab every inkbottle from the table. This means war.

Soon both of us are completely covered in ink, and I sincerely doubt that my hair is silver anymore. When we run out of ink, Sora tackles me, pushing me to the bed and pinning my arms above my head. This is a rather compromising position, especially since he's over me.

"I like mine naughty, but I'm always on top," I inform him. He blushes for a second before he starts tickling me. His hands are running up my sides, and I have to force out a laugh. Whenever anyone else does this it tickles, but with Sora it turns me on, fast. His fingers, soft warm fingers, skimming over my skin feels so damn good.

I suddenly push him, flipping us over so that I'm on top. I attack his sides and stomach, and he laughs loudly. Then his stomach lurches and the laugh turns into a cough, and the cough turns into a series of coughs. I roll off him to give him some breathing room. Finally, the coughing stops, and Sora weakly drops onto the bed.

I reach a hand to his forehead and feel his fever. He's burning up. This is probably my fault. I shouldn't of allowed him to mess around so much. The sick need their rest, and what Sora and I were doing was definitely not resting. I replace the cold rag on his head and sigh.

"Thanks," Sora croaks out. He's breathing heavily, and it's almost like every breath's a struggle.

"You're welcome," I answer. Things are back to being odd between us again. Sora picks up an ink-splattered piece of paper and the feather pen. He also manages to grab a full inkbottle. I didn't think any were left. He holds the pen in his hand like I taught him and writes an A on the paper. It's sloppy and barely legible, but it's definitely an A.

"Like this," he asks weakly.

"Yeah." I answer, trying to pretend I'm not happy for him.

"So what's the next letter," he asks.

"B," I reply stoically.

"Like the bug," he asks, voice slightly stronger.

"Sometimes," I answer. "It depends on how it's used…" I begin to write one down, but I can feel someone's eyes on us. Turning, I see Namine with a smile on her face, though it's a sad smile. Like something bad is going to happen.

"Riku, what're you looking at?" I turn to Sora, and wonder why he doesn't seem to see her. I turn back and see that Namine has vanished. Somehow I'm not surprised.

"Nothing Sora," I answer. I need to have a long talk with Namine.

"So Riku," Sora asks me. "Are we friends now?" He sounds so innocent and so hopeful. I don't think we're friends. After all, I do not make friends. I look at his face and sigh. How can I possibly say no to those adorable blue puppy eyes?

"I don't know Sora. I haven't had any friends for a long time." He smiles brightly. A smile that can light up a room.

"Then I can be your first friend!" He sounds so happy about that. He holds out his hand for a friendly handshake and I take it.

So Sora, I guess you're now friends with a cruel, two-hundred-year-old murderer. That must be nice. Then again, I get to be friends with a sweet innocent boy with blue eyes and a bright bubbly personality. I wonder, who's the lucky one?


	3. Traitors in Our Mist

Hi guys! Thanx for the reviews!

Mysleevesr2long: Thanx! I'm trying to make this story sweeter than my other one, which is really antsy.

DancingMistress: Thanx so much! I think I have an idea for the sequel, so you so totally have to read that too!

Kmsweetness: Thank you! I'm glad you like my writing style since I work very hard on it!

Kuramasgurl13: Don't worry, you're supposed to be extremely confused over 'heaven'. You probably won't get it until the end of the story when everything comes together. Namine is one of my favorite characters, and after S/R my favorite Riku anybody pairing has to be Riku/Namine, but I still really think Sora and Riku are made for each other.

Praetor: I'm trying to make it cute. Cute is hard for me cause I always want action and all that crap/

ShadowedDarkness: Thanks for the compliment! Namine is very mysterious, isn't she? That's what makes her so completely awesome!

Disclaimer: I don't own KH or FF.

Caged By Hate

**Riku**

He's not getting better. It's been three days since he got sick, and his fever hasn't broken even once. That's not very good. Sighing, I replace the wash cloth on Sora's head. I had to force Namine, Kairi, and Selphie not to look after Sora. They'll just get sick as well. I guess one good thing about being me is my immune system. I can't get sick, and Haven't gotten sick for two-hundred years.

God, he's so innocent. Why does he have to be sick. It's supposed to be that the bad people suffer while the good people are left alone in a world of happiness, but it's never that way. It's always the innocents that suffer, and the bad guys always get away. Just like Sora, and just like her…

He reminds me so much of her sometimes, maybe that's why we're such good friends. She was everything to me, though I was too proud to admit it. She held my heart in her hands, and when she left me she took it with her. But somehow, Sora, a nobody, is slowly bringing my heart back to me. I was too proud back then. Too proud to believe her, too proud to save her, and now, this is my redemption. I did nothing, a sin worse than murder, ad her blood stains my hands up to this very day.

"Ri-ku," Sora asks, voice hoarse. "Can we learn the next letter of the alphabet?" His eagerness breaks my heart. At first it was only curiosity, but now it's something more. It's like he's trying to keep his mind away from the sickness, this horrible sickness that refuses to leave him alone.

"The next letter is the last one, Z. It's written like this…" I write out a z on the paper and hand the feathered pen and paper to Sora. We don't have any ink fights anymore. He's too weak to fight back. We don't tickle each other any more, every one of his laughs turns into a cough.

He grips the pen unsteadily and writes a shaky z. His handwriting has improved a little, but it still looks like a little kid wrote it. Z, the last letter of the alphabet, I hope this isn't some unusually cruel way of foreshadowing something.

"How are you feeling?" I ask, allowing just a tiny bit of concern to be heard through my voice. I don't want him to know how worried I really am. His blue eyes stare up at me, and I feel like I'm looking into two exquisite sapphires. The light is still there, but it's dimmed by horrible sickness.

"I'm doing fine, felling loads better actually." He's lying, I know he is. Ever since the day we became friends I decided that maybe I care just a little, not too much, but enough to the point where I wouldn't be happy if he died. I don't think I'd be happy if any of them died. Kairi and Selphie are constant reminders of life inside this dead space, and Namine is just Namine. It would be hard not to miss the mysterious little girl.

Speak of the devil and he shall come. Namine's at the door again, the same expression on her face as always. That look of knowledgeable hopelessness, like nothing can be done and everyone is doomed and she knows it all. I hate that look. I lock eyes with her, and for a moment Aquamarine meets green, and I can see. I know, and I don't like what I know. But then the moment passes, and I am as ignorant as ever, to an extent. I remember the feeling of that knowledge, and the dread. I'm not going to let that happen.

"Hey Riku, what are you looking at?" Sora asks again, completely bewildered. For some reason, he can't see Namine, no one else can, I think. She only comes to me.

"Nothing," I reply. We sit there in silence for awhile, comfortable silence, before Sora's stomach growls. I chuckle a bit and ruffle his hair, making it even messier tan usual.

"I'll go get us some lunch," Sora tries to glare at me, but as usual, it comes out looking funnier than it is frightening.

"Thanks Riku," he tells me. I walk downstairs to the dining room and grab some of the soup. Soup is the only thing Sora's stomach can handle, it's been rejecting everything else lately.

I walk back upstairs to the East Wing, and I can hear the giggling of three girls up to no good. Didn't I tell them not to bother Sora? If they get sick I'm not taking care of them. I'm about to burst through the door when I hear Sora laugh. It's a weak, mousy laugh, but it's a laugh none the less. I peak in through the crack in the door and see the four of them conversing excitedly. I'll give them five minutes that's all.

Not that it matters or anything, it's not like I'm going soft or kind. I'm just not up to trying to break up that close knit family. They'll whine and complain and scratch and stuff like that. Selphie imitates me, eyes going cold and chest puffed out, and instead of feeling angry I smile. It's only the barest turning up of the lips, because it's not funny. I should have her beheaded for giving such a lousy impression of her king.

Suddenly, Namine sees me. She gives me that look. That girl, she's a mystery. I need to talk to her, now.

I open the door, and put the cold look back on my face. Selphie immediately stops her imitation and gulps. I set the food down and grab Namine by the wrist. She squeaks in pain and her face twists into a look of discomfort, but she makes no attempt to get away. "I need to talk to you, alone, now." I tell her.

Her eyes widen slightly, as if she wasn't expecting this, and I almost laugh at her. She should of thought of this before she did whatever she was doing. Kairi gasps, but Namine gives her a look that clearly says not to follow. I pull Namine out the door and into the hall.

"What the hell does that look mean?" I whisper viciously.

"What look?" She asks, almost emotionally, though her haze is settled on the floor in undeniable guilt. I'm running out of patience. This girl will not defy me.

"That look…What do you know?" T this Namine smiles, just slightly.

"It's not my job to tell you. The answer is worth much more than my pathetic life anyway. Just remember, not everything is black and white, not everything is plain and simple. You need Sora and Sora needs you. Two-hundred years haven't changed you Riku. You have the chance to change your fate. You weren't able to save her, but you can still save him." I think that's the most Namine's ever said, but it doesn't answer my question. How does she know? How does she know about my imprisonment? How the hell does she know anything at all?

"Terll me what you know!" I scream, so loudly Kairi and Selphie rush to the door.

"I wish I could, but I can't, sorry." She looks back down at the floor guiltily. I reach up a hand to smack some sense into her, but I hear a gasp behind me.

Sora…

He looks from my raised hand to his sister and back before he glares, and this time pure hatred rests in his features. "I thought we were friends Riku. I thought you might be a good person, but I was wrong. No person could raise a hand to an innocent child! I was wrong Riku! You and I could never be friends!" With that said he rushes forward, grabbing Namine. Kairi and Selphie glare at me also before they storm into Sora's room, followed by Sora and Namine. Namine looks back at me one last time before the door closes behind her and says one last thing.

"You can still save him." How can I save him when he hates me?

The walls seem to mock me, laughing at me, telling me how I have never done anything right. I need to think, but I can't stay here. I need to go outside, into the fresh air.

I go back to the beach beside the back of the castle. This castle was built on the shore, so it has a spectacular view of the ocean. It's always so calm here, silent in a relaxed way. There's this island in the middle of the lake with the oddest tree on it. Its fruit, the Paopu, are said to bind two people together forever, but it's not true. It's only a myth after all. The tree forms a perfect branch, and I walk across the bridge connecting the island to the rest of the castle grounds and plop down onto my favorite thinking place. The ocean is calm, and the sunset is happening right now. Most people consider the red color beautiful, but all I see is blood.

"_Riku," her voice is like a million chimes, airy and fresh, yet innocent and full of life. _

"_What?" I ask rudely, though it's only to hide my insecurity. I'm always nervous around her. My heart beats at a mile a minute, and I think I love her, not that she can know that. No, as long as we have everything against us, she can never know._

"_Do you know what this is?" She holds up a yellow fruit shaped like a star._

"_No," I ask, feigning disinterest. She blushes a bit._

"_It's a Paopu fruit. They say when two people share one, they're bound together for all of eternity." I can feel a blush come to my cheeks. Is she saying what I think she's saying? _

"_I was just wondering, would you like to share one with me?" Her green eyes look up at me in hopefulness. I've never been able to say no to her. It's like saying no to a puppy. I'd love to be bound to her for all of eternity. I love her more than anything, and eternity doesn't seem like long enough._

"_Sure," I tell her. She rips the fruit in half and hands a piece to me. Before I can take a bite, a scream comes from the difference. _

"_I'll be right back," I tell her. "Wait for me." I run after the scream, hoping to see what was wrong. What if they had found us? What I didn't know was that by going to see what was wrong, I had left her in danger._

_That was the last time I ever saw her alive. When I returned to our spot, I saw the Paopu fruit, crushed into the ground, trampled. That was the only day of my long life I wept, not the tantrum of a five- year-old, but the tears of someone truly in pain. I couldn't save her, and that's when I realized, everybody dies, so does it really matter how you live?_

A scream awakes me from the spot I dozed off at. Kairi's scream. Without thought I run back in, grabbing Soul Eater on my way there.

I barge into Sora's room, finding him perfectly safe, along with Selphie, but neither Kairi nor Namine is there.

"What happened?" I ask calmly. I know I would have been much more frantic if Sora had been taken, yet I don't know why.

"These men came and took them!" Selphie bursts into hysterical sobs and breaks down on the floor.

"Who?" I ask, turning to Sora. He gets up and glares at me.

"It's none of your business. They're my sisters, and I'll get them back myself! I don't need your help." I'm getting angry now. I can feel my blood boiling as I try to contain it.

"You're in no condition to leave, at least not alone. Besides, nobody takes anything from me. This a serious blow to my pride. What if one of my enemies figures out I can't even defend the people under my roof?" Actually, I care for Kairi and Namine. I don't know when it stared or why, but I want to get them back. I think that maybe it's because I don't want to see Sora if they die. I don't want to see him sad.

Sora glares at me angrily, but Selphie pulls me into an embrace. "Thank you so much! We're going to kill those jackasses, right Sora?" It's amazing, even at times like this, Selphie manages to stay optimistic.

Sora glares at me again. "I don't trust him Selph. We can do this alone." His eyes shine with doubt, but Selphie walks up to him and smacks him.

"Sora. Have you ever defeated him in battle? NO! So until you do, he's coming with us! We need all the help we can get if you want your sisters back!" At her words, Sora nods.

Neither Sora nor Selphie know my secret. Even though I didn't ask them to keep it, Kairi and Namine never told. They'll both probably freak out if they find out, therefor, I'm not telling.

"Sora, we go tomorrow. Selphie-" She cuts me off.

"I'm going too! I can fight as well as any man in the village, promise!" She's so fiery that even if I said no, she'd probably just follow us anyway.

"Fine, we leave tomorrow morning." Sora looks at me.

"Why can't we leave today?" Sora asks. He's leaning heavily on the bedpost, and he's clearly not well enough to go anywhere. I don't even answer his question.

"Selphie, why don't we find you a weapon?" She nods, and follows me out of Sora's room.

Sora glares at us on our way out, but he drops onto the bed, weak from sickness.

I head to my small armory and grab my mother's two swords. Just incase something happens to Soul Eater, I need a back up weapon. I might not die, but I still feel pain. Selphie immediately grabs a Nunchaku from the wall called Crescent Wish. A difficult weapon to use, and a strong one at that.

"Are you sure you know how to use that?" I ask, raising an eyebrow. She nods, practicing some of the moves on it with almost perfect accuracy.

Now, for Sora's weapon. I pick a slim sword with a dragon carved around the handle. The sword is light but powerful, and it's hers. I remember the day I got it for her.

She had been staring at it through the window for a long time now, admiring its sharp edge and exquisite designs. Of course, people like us would never be able to afford something like that. Little did she know, I had been saving up for a long time now. She deserved it, a special weapon for a special person. 

Her face lit up when I handed it to her. She was always smiling, always so beautiful. It's always the innocents that suffer.

"_I love it, thank you!" She had yelled, waving it around, the dragon's ruby eyes glinting in the bright sunlight. Everything had been bright back then, everything._

I slip the sword back into its shaft. Sora will love the sword. I smile at the thought of his eyes lightening as he pulls it from its sheath to see the beautiful patterns glinting off the metal. Somehow, I want to make him happy. I don't want to have him suffer, and I definitely don't want to be the cause of his suffering. Seeing him sick makes me hurt inside, seeing him angry makes me want to hurt something. He's the first person to extend his hand to me and ask to be friends. Even with her, it was given that we were friends.

I don't know if what I'm feeling is just friendship, or if it's something more, but I know that I want him to be happy.

**Heaven**

"Damn it!" Yuffie screamed, slamming her fist down on the table and shaking the looking glass.

"Don't worry Yuffie, these things work themselves out," Sephiroth replies. Neither Leon nor Cloud is present at the time being, and neither of them knows of the kidnapping.

"How can it be? Sora's sick, Kairi and Namine are out of our reach, and Sora's pissed at Riku!" Sephiroth just raises a hand to silence the younger god.

"The real question is, why did they kidnap Kairi and Namine? Sora and Riku are the important ones. So why did they kidnap the two sisters? Given, Namine has a variety of powers, but not compared to Sora or Riku. I think there's still hope." Yuffie glares at the stoic god.

"Not if Sora dies from illness there isn't!" She responds. Sephiroth smiles a little.

"We'll just have to get of that sickness then, won't we?" He puts his hands over the looking glass, but Yuffie grabs him.

"What about the rules?" She asks, clearly worried.

"Stiff and Stiffer aren't here right now, are they?" Yuffie nods, a grin on her face.

"We won't heal him enough to make it not look natural, just enough to insure survival. They'll never know." Yuffie let's go of the elder god's hands and allows him to heal the boy named sky.

"Why are you so interested in this Sephiroth? Usually you don't care what happens." Sephiroth stares at her for a second.

"Very observant Yuffie. Let's just say that the boy, Riku, reminds me of myself at a time long ago." Yuffie grins at him before she leans back in her chair, crossing her legs.

"Don't worry, I won't tell." She says, as if they're both children keeping a harmless secret.

Sephiroth just nods, the creepy smile still on his face.

Outside the conference room, a voice speaks up. "Well, well. It seems that we have a few traitors in our mist. This could get...interesting."


	4. Who are They?

Hi. Thanx to my reviewers!

**Sora**

Everything is spinning, so rapidly. It's like my world is upside down, then side ways, then regular, only to be flipped again. And suddenly, it's not my world anymore. Everything is bright and pure white, like the sun turned on high. Through the swirling images, I can see a man. He looks like Riku except older, and there isn't as much pain in his eyes.

Not that Riku is somebody to be sympathized with! He's an insufferable spoiled brat who believes he can do anything he wants. He even thought he could get away with hitting my sister! The whole teaching me how to read thing was just to get under my skin so he could hurt me, so he could betray me.

"Now, now, why do you think that?" A cheery voice pipes up in my mind. I can see her, floating in front of me. While her voice and personality definitely seem to be more like Selphie, she looks a lot like Kairi. Her hair is similar, and though they have different colors, her eyes look the same as well.

"Look kid. Riku cares for you, he really does. He just doesn't know it yet, k!" She's definitely a lot like Selphie. The other person, the Riku-like one, seems to agree, though he looks much more laid back, like a mixture between amused, drunk, stoic, and evil, but yet none of those seem to fit him.

"It's done." The silver haired one tells the more energetic one. Who are these people?

"We're gods!" The hyper one replies. "Now, wake up, Sora!"

I open my eyes to look at the beautiful sunrise. I feel a wait across my lap, and another one on my shoulder. Selphie's curled up on top of me, like a cat, and Riku's leaning against my side, halfway on the bed, and halfway on the chair beside it. He looks so peaceful resting there. The god's words echo in my head.

Riku, care for me? Yeah right, he probably hates me. On that thought I gently lift Selphie off of me, rudely letting Riku's head drop from my shoulder. It lands on the bed and Riku looks up, yawning. He stretches lazily, lifting his arms above his head, and his shirt lifts a bit, giving me a clear view of his stomach, guttural hair trailing down the waistband of his pants. Leaving the rest up to imagination. Unfortunately for me, I have a very vivid imagination.

He gets up, leaving me drooling, staring at his ass as he leaves the room. I awaken Selphie gently, and she stares up at me with tired eyes. "Five more minutes," she grumbles and abruptly falls back asleep. This time I shake her harder, and she awakes with a start.

"Ohh!" She exclaims, running out of the room. Tiredly, I change into my clothes. I pull off my shirt, but before I can slip on a new one, a hand on my bare shoulder stops me. The hand is warm and dry, callused and large. I turn and see Riku staring at me. He gives my body an appreciative glance before he looks away.

"You won't be wearing those clothes. All of us need to wear more comfortable clothes, so that it's easier to fight." I look at him. He's not being hypocritical. Instead of his usual clothes, he's wearing a tighter fitting wool sleeveless shirt and foreign looking pants the are full length and slightly baggy at the ends. He also has leather boots and leather gloves that barely cover his hands. His hair is pulled back into a low ponytail, long bangs framing his face. I cloak is set on his broad shoulders, contrasting his pale sin and making him look very exotic. The only colors on his face are the pink of his lips and the aqua of his eyes. It's an unusual, very foreign look, but it's very dark and sexy. Not that I like him or anything.

He hands me a bundle of clothes, but I don't argue. There's no time. If I want to find my sisters alive, I have to go with him. It's not a choice.

I don't particularly like my clothes. It's all wool, and a faded red. The shorts go down to my knees, and a red shirt covers my arms. White gloves with the fingers cut out fit my hands perfectly, and a black traveling cloak with white trim that only goes down to my knees completes the outfit. Unlike Riku, who looks dark, dangerous, and unbelievably sexy, a look like a cute little boy. I pout a little, only making it look worse. Suddenly, something falls out of the cloak's pocket. It's a silver chain with a crown on the end. Riku stares at it with suppressed horror, as if it's not supposed to be there, and I smile. Well, if Mr. High-and-mighty doesn't want me to wear it, then I might as well wear it.

I fasten the clasp around my neck, and smile at my reflection. Somehow the chain adds the perfect door. I don't realize Riku's gone until the door slams behind me. Shrugging, I grab some extra clothes from my closet and throw them into my traveling bag.

I turn to follow Riku out of the room, but I trip over something and almost fall flat on my face. Angrily, I turn to face the culprit, only to find the most beautiful sword I've ever seen before on the ground. The handle has an elaborate dragon wrapped around it with ruby eyes. The silver glints off the sun, reflecting the silver all over the room in a rainbow assortment of colors. It's gorgeous.

Suddenly, a fit of coughing over comes over me, and I collapse on the ground. I lift a hand from my mouth and see blood. So maybe, they didn't make me completely better. It doesn't matter. I need to find Namine and Kairi.

Wearily, I lift myself from the ground and strap the sword to my waist. I walk down the several flights of stairs to the kitchen, where I find Riku and Selphie already about to leave. I wobble slightly, and Riku gives me a slightly worried look before he covers it with the usual coldness.

_Riku really cares for you._

And pigs can fly. Seriously, Riku doesn't even like me. Another part of my head argues that if he didn't like me he wouldn't help me, but I tune that part out. Riku has two bags slung over his shoulder. One is probably filled with his clothes, and the other is filled with food and water. I can tell it's water from the leather of the jugs sticking out.

"Are you ready to go?" He asks in his calm, cold voice. I used to think there was pain behind that voice, but I don't hear it anymore.

"Yeah," I answer, equally cold. My voice sounds weird, even to my ears. I'm not used to being mean, but Riku deserves it. He almost hit my sister!

We head out of the castle, along the road heading away from shore, back towards town. Why are we heading this way? Why not to the ocean? Wouldn't that be the easiest escape route?

"Why are we heading this way?" I ask, voicing my thoughts.

"I didn't see anybody going out to sea, so this is the only other logical way." That makes sense, kind of.

The trail is boring, familiar from all the times I've walked it as a child. Soon we make it to town. I look around at the people, they're starving and it's all Riku's fault! Now I remember why Kairi and Namine hated him so much. He keeps his gaze focused on the road, and it never strays to the peasants. I give him a pleading look. I can't stand to see my people starve, and I can't watch people suffer for wrongs they have never committed.

Casually, he grabs a few golden coins from his pocket and slings them into the crowd. The peasants lungs at them, fighting for them as if their lives depend on it, which they probably do. Those poor people, it's almost shocking to think that I was one only a week and a half ago. Riku took us away from all of that.

Riku really cares for you, he really does… 

And hell is actually freezing cold.

We continue our track, heading through the town. I pass by my old home, and I can see it's already been taken over by other starving people. I smile a bit. Maybe the shelter will save their lives like it did for us.

By the end of the day we've made it through the town, but the sunken in hungry faces of the people haunt me. I glance over to Selphie and see even her usually cheerful demeanor is gloomy. Riku looks as calm as always, and that makes me hate him even more.

"How can you be so god damned cold about that? Those people are starving to death! How can you not care?" For a second he's silent and I guess he's ignoring me, until he speaks, voice barely above a whisper, silver bangs hiding his eyes.

"Everybody dies someday, so does it really matter how they live?" His words sicken me. How can he think that? How can anyone see life, a precious gift, as something so worthless? In my anger I throw a punch at him, but he dodges, and I get thrown off balance. I quickly right myself and lunge again, but I miss once more. He's so infuriating, so despicable. His cold attitude, his hidden pain, his beautiful silver hair, his ocean-shaded eyes, his ticklish spots, how he seems to be bipolar. I hate everything about him, yet I don't. It's a mystery, one huge contradiction, just like Riku.

I just confused myself. I fit of dizziness strikes me, and everything's spinning. It's upside down and sideways, diagonal and still moving. Before I totally loose all sensation, I can feel strong arms encompass me, catching me. A steady heart beat pounding against my ear is the last thing I hear before I'm there again.

"Hello?" I call out, hoping to see the cheery brunet god that reminds me of a Selphie/Kairi hybrid, or even the Riku like god with the oddest eyes. Everything's empty. Desperately, I turn the corner into a room, a conference room. Four people, or gods, since I can see the girl and the silver haired man there, are staring at a reflective surface.

"Hello?" I ask, anxiously. "Do any of you know why I'm here?" A blonde man, who looks remarkably like me, except for the color of his hair, id the first to see me. He looks from me to the glass and back.

"How?" He asks. His voice is deep and quiet yet worried, and it draws the other gods' attention to me. The other two from before are here, and there's a new one, a man with brown hair and stormy gray/blue eyes.

"Hello Sora!" The female says to me. She runs up to me and shakes my hand, but her fingers go right through mine.

"Oh!" She says, looking confused. "What's up with this?"

"He must be dreaming, and it took him here." The silver-haired one smiles. "Either that or he's unconscious or dead. So Sora, would you like to go back?" Would I? He's pointing at the weird mirror in the center of the room.

I nod. Right now I don't think I could say anything, since I don't trust my mouth. I walk over to them and gaze into the shimmery mirror like surface they were looking into.

It's us! I can see, Riku and Selphie, and even myself. Riku's still carrying his own bags, along with me. Why is he carrying me? Aren't I capable of walking? And how can I be there, when I'm here?

I take another step forward and take a closer look at the moving picture. Every now and then, Riku will glance worriedly down at my still form and hold me closer. Riku worried? I must be imagining things. Selphie seems to be tired and bored, and she's slouching, being melodramatic and dragging herself down the path. It's kind of funny, seeing bright cheery Selphie act like that, but then again it may not even be real.

I also notice how she's dressed. She's wearing clothes fit for a bar wench! A short yellow dress with her unusual weapon at her waist, and worn shoes; the dress barely covers anything! I can't believe cheery innocent little Selphie is wearing something like that!

I lean in closer, almost touching the odd material, and suddenly I fall into the mirror I was watching. It feels awful! It's like a huge bucket of ice was just poured over me, and then someone decided to cook me, steaming hot and freezing cold at the same time. My heart feels funny, like it's trying to tear itself out of my body, and I can see myself down there, in Riku's arms. I smash into my body, and it feels like I just fell from a cliff and landed on the pointy parts of the rocks bellow. I fall into darkness, beautiful, painless darkness, and go to sleep in Riku's arms.

When I wake up, it's in an interesting position. Someone, most probably Riku, lit a fire, and the food and other supplies are stored by Riku. Once again, Selphie snuggled the closest warm thing, which just happens to be me. I pull her off of me, and climb off of the blanket we were lying on. Oh! I forgot to pack one, so she had to share with me. Of course, Riku wasn't courteous to give up his blanket.

He's acting like he's asleep, but somehow I know he's not. He's keeping watch, a hand at Soul Eater, ready to draw at a moment's notice.

Riku really does care for you… 

I climb into his blankets, but I still leave a respectable amount of space between us. After all, we're barely even tolerable of each other. Or at least, I can barely tolerate him. I can't trust him… Then what am I doing? Ignoring the part of me that just asked that, I snuggle deeper into the blankets. They smell like Riku. It's a nice smell.

Besides me, Riku shifts. "So," he asks, "does this men we're friends again?" He doesn't sound very concerned, bored actually, but I can tell he's worried, or else he wouldn't of bothered to ask.

Are we still friends? It's so confusing. "I don't know," I answer truthfully, "but I don't hate you anymore."

It true, somehow I can't bring myself to hate him. There's this art of me that refuses to do it. I think it's the same part of me that can see the pain deep inside him, the part of me that can admire his beauty, the part of me that can see the good person hidden deep within him.

Somehow, it just doesn't feel right to hate him.

From that night on I slept in his blankets with him. We passed plenty of towns and have plenty of money to buy blankets, we just haven't. It's been almost a week, and besides a few hints from the local villagers that we've passed, there haven't been any sightings of the mysterious cloaked men.

Tonight we face another night in the woods. As usual, Riku finds a clearing and lights a fire, and we set up camp. As usual, Selphie sets up her blanket on one side of the fire, and as usual, Riku sets his up on the other side. I climb into his blankets, and he gets in beside me, our sides brushing as we climb in next to each other. Every night we seem to get closer and closer until now we're touching. Every time he moves, it sends an electric feeling down me to my groin. When he finally falls asleep late at night, the way his head is slightly tilted to the side, exposing his smooth pale neck, and the way he's so slim and yet so muscular at the same time. His long silver hair, aquamarine eyes, pale pink lips, everything. God, was he blessed with a beautiful body.

Tonight, we break routine. Instead of slipping into an awkward silence with one of us, usually me, blushing at the other's close proximity, I open my mouth to speak.

"So, what's your favorite color?" I ask, surprising myself. What a way to start a conversation. Riku pauses for a moment, before he answers.

"Blue." It's as simple as that. No explanation why, no shade, just the color, and oddly enough, it's the color of my eyes. I blush a bit at that, but there's no way Riku likes blue because of my eyes.

"Yours?" He asks, and I smile.

Visions of his silver hair sparkling in the moonlight flash through my mind, and his mysterious aquamarine eyes. Silver and Aqua, my favorite colors, but I can't admit that, so instead I say, "red."

He pauses for a second before he mumbles something under his breath and rolls away from me. What did I do? Did I say something wrong?

He finally falls asleep at around midnight , and he rolls onto his back. He looks so vulnerable there. Eyes closed, giving him a very innocent look that vanishes when he opens his eyes, and his body, one arm on his stomach, catching the material of his shirt and exposing hi muscled stomach, the other thrown to his side, neck tilted and silver hair a halo around his head…

I want to touch him so badly right now. He'll never know will he? I mean he is asleep. Slowly, I cup his cheek with my hand, tracing his lips before I can stop myself. He looks so comfortable, and he's so warm. Slowly, I wrap my arms around him and climb on top of him, careful to be absolutely silent as not to disturb him. I push my head into his chest, snuggling even further into him. I hear him stir slightly, and close my eyes, well almost. I leave them open just a crack. He looks at me, not realizing I'm awake, and smiles. Suddenly, I can feel his warm lips pressed against my forehead, and even after he pulls away, I can still feel the tingle from his lips.

Riku really cares for you… 

I hope she didn't mean that in a brother to brother or father to don way, because I think…

I think I'm falling for Riku.

We haven't really talked much, but the silence between us isn't hostile anymore either. Sometimes he'll flash me a smile, and I'll return it, and every night the two of us spar, Selphie cheering for both of us and throwing sticks at Riku when he's beating me too badly.

Tonight is one of those nights. Selphie starts throwing sticks at Riku, laughing as he tries to either dodge or block all of them. Using his distraction as my advantage, I lunge at him, tackling him to the ground. I tickle his sides, and he bursts out laughing, shaking and trying to get away.

"Sora, stop!" I laugh at that particular comment. Wasn't he the one who taught me never to let an enemy walk away unharmed? I pin his arms to the ground over his head and stop the torture. I lean down, my lips brushing his ear.

"Only if you say you loose," I whisper. He shivers, and I smile, but as soon as I start to dwell on my victory, Riku flips us over so that he's on top and I'm on bottom.

"I never loose Sora," he smirks, his long silver hair undone and brushing my face. He leans in, closing the space between us, and I can see his eyes sparkling with emotions I've never seen in them, lust, happiness, and hundreds of other unidentifiable feelings. Then his lips are on mine, and there isn't any time to think about anything besides his sweet lips. They're soft and he tastes like sugar. The moment is pure bliss until a gasp startles us. Riku pulls away and falls backwards off of me, and I just tilt my head up to see a very angry looking Selphie.

"Sora! How could you? We're supposed to be looking for your sisters and you're off kissing the royal slut! There's no time to waste on romance, they could be dead Sora! They could be dead!" And so the guilt settles in. How could I have been so irresponsible? How could I let my emotions get in the way of anything? Riku and I are barely even friends, much less any more.

"Sorry Selph," I tell her. She looks at me, and then Riku, and slowly she calms down before walking away. I glance over to Riku, but the cold emotionless mask is on again.

"Riku?" I ask. He brushes himself off and strolls out into the forest, muttering something about more firewood. I had come so far, for nothing. The mask has come back, and I'll probably never see who he really is again. But that's a good thing, right? I mean I don't care about him, right? My mind is saying yes, I don't care, but my heart is screaming no.

That night, I sleep in Selphie's blankets.

The next morning, Riku wakes up and immediately leaves to take a bath. I start to follow him, I mean Riku naked, who wouldn't? Ten I remember, I can't have that with Riku. I'll just take my bath tomorrow.

I clean up the camp, rolling the blankets and dousing the fire. Neither Selphie or Riku are in sight, probably to get out of the cleaning…

"Stupid Selphie! Stupid Riku!"

"You called?" A relatively cold yet definitely amused voice asks. Riku walks back, hair slightly wet, but unfortunately fully clothes. Unfortunately…What kind of pervert am I becoming? I take a good look at Riku's perfect body. At least I'm a pervert with a good sense in men.

"We have to get going," he says. "I found this." He holds up a scrap piece of lavender cloth. The same color Kairi was wearing on that day.

"The wind couldn't of blown it here because it was firmly lodged beneath a rock. Purposely, almost." That means, Kairi and Namine are still alive, and they're leaving us a trail to follow!

Selphie walks in behind me, apparently she heard what Riku said, because she pumps a fist into the air and cheers. I'm still worried though. We haven't found them yet, and anything can still happen.

"Let's go!" I smile, and Riku grabs the two bags, hefting them over his shoulder before he leads the way out of camp.

We climb over several logs, slowly making our way towards the place where Riku found the strip of cloth. Then I see it. Another one stuck up in a tree. I can't believe Riku didn't see that one before.

"Hey Riku! Look over here!" I point to the lavender strip of silk, dirtied and tied. Riku glares at it.

"If you were a hostage, being dragged away by rough captors, how, pray tell, would you get a strip of cloth into a tree?" Silence follows his question as we all think about what he just said… He's right, if Kairi and Namine were held captive, how would they get one of their strips of clothing tied around the top of a tree? Suddenly a rustling in the bush catches my attention. Selphie gasps and grabs onto my arm, and Riku unsheathes Soul Eater.

"Be on your guard," Riku says, moving in front of us. "We're not alone."

**Heaven**

"How could we not sense them!" Yuffie, the female god cries out, horrified. All of the four gods are silent, and the victorious smirk is wiped from Seph's face.

"What if they die?" Yuffie continues ranting, pacing around the small room. "Everything will be ruined! Who are these people, and how do they escape the eyes of the gods?" Silence is prevalent around the room. Indeed, who is capable of escaping the all-seeing eyes of the gods?

"We must take this in stride," Cloud says, light blue eyes closed, and a hand cupping a weary face, too tired for such a youthful composure. "We all know that Riku can't die."

Once again there is silence, until the brunette god, Leon, breaks it. "Yes, but the other two can die. The female is not important to us, but if the boy dies…" His silence is frightening. All of the gods know what it means, and yet they fear to say it, until green eyes stare into the reflective pool and Sephiroth answers the unasked question. "We'll have no choice but to move onto the second option."

There's a pause, and he continues. "But for now, we must trust them. Those two would not be the chosen ones if they could die so easily. So for now we watch…" This comment seems to be ironic to the other members of the room. They were chosen to be gods to help people, and they are the most powerful beings in the universe, but right now, all they can do is watch.


	5. Kill Him

I just realized I forgot to thank all who reviewed for ch. 3! I really didn't mean to! I was in such a rush with updating that I completely forgot about it! I do read each and every one of my reviews, and I enjoy all of them, even if they have criticism. If you have a problem with the story, I want to know. If you think I could do something better, tell me. I will listen to your suggestions and do my best to fix it. You will not be ignored. Once again, I apologize for not thanking you all properly! Sorry!

Also, this chapter will have a bit more character development and less plot, because there needs to be more characterization. Plus, the girl Riku's thinking about isn't really important, and she's not like a Mary Sue. The only thing about her is that Riku was in love with her, and she died. She's not coming back to life or anything, and Riku does not love her anymore, he just feels guilty. And, has anybody read any good Riku/Sora fics lately? I haven't found many new ones… Oh! And if you like angst, read my finished work, Painful Salvation! I'm really proud of that one, and I like it a lot more than this one.

Jenni Sunshine: Jenni Moonlight: Thanx for your review! Love your Fallen Angel fic! I can't get it out of my head! Thanx for the support, and I hope you continue reading!

DancingMistress: Gracias! I'm so glad you like my fics. It means a load to me! I promise I'll update as fast as I can!

Kmsweetness: I love Selph though! She's impossible to hate, plus, I kind of feel for her. My 2 bestest friends are in love w/each other, so I often feel left out… I rally hate that feeling, of seeing your friends have everything they want, but not having anyone yourself. I'm not boy crazy, but I wish I could meet someone and connect with them.

Teizonriku: I love your reviews! They're so insightful! You always pick up at what I'm hinting at! Thanx so much for the compliments, though personally, I thought I made Kairi a bit OOC. I don't really like Sci-fi that much either, but I just had this Idea and I couldn't let it go! I'm really trying to make it different from PS, and I'm starting on the sequel soon! And the evil people, that's part of the mystery…

TheAnimeFreak14: Gracias, mi amigo! Looking forward to IMing you later, so don't feel hesitant to talk… anyway, thanks again!

Kuramasgirl13: Yeah, there aren't many. The one pairing I don't like is Riku/Yuffie… I just don't get it. They never even met in the show. Also, one of the reasons I don't like SoKairi pairing is because when I first saw them I seriously thought they were brother and sister!

Shiri Matakami: Gracias! To be honest, I've never played any of the FFs before, so I'm really nervous about getting them in character! I really want to get FFVII, but I can't find it anywhere! I want Cloudy-chan! And yes, Riku is awesome, he's my fav character! Thanx again, and I can help wondering, why do you call yourself the Lord of Fish?

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts!

Caged By Hate

**Sora**

I tense up behind Riku, and draw my sword. The sound of metal being pulled from its sheath echoes through the silent scenery, and it's the only sound I hear. Beside me, Selphie readies her odd weapon, and Riku already has Soul Eater out. .. I wonder why he uses that weapon. He's much better with the other two twin Swords, though I suppose they must hold sentimental value for him.

A rustle in the bushes catches our attention, and my eyes dart towards a man with a heavy black cloak on, hiding his face and hair. "Hello," he drawls. His voice is cold but not deep and very evil sounding.

"Who are you?" Riku asks, and I almost shiver. He sounds scary when he's mad. Somehow I'd rather face this man than a pissed Riku.

"You should know me Riku. Can you remember me? I know age has rotted your memory, but I'm sure you can remember me if you really try. Well, I have to go now! Maybe we'll meet again later, if you survive my little friends here." With a swish of his cloak he disappears, but right now that's not our main concern. Right now our main concern is the large number of shadowy black creatures surrounding us.

Riku mutters a few words under his breath, and charges, Selphie and I not far behind. One of the creatures lunges at me and I jump to the side before I slice it in half. With a sigh pitched squeal it dissipates. I turn and block a strike from the next one before it can hit me with those sharp claws. Between Heartless, I lok over to Selphie to see how she's doing. She's holding her own, striking any shadow that comes near her with her odd weapon. Riku's doing exceptionally well, slicing and dicing the shadows as if they're nothing. The fighting goes on for what seems like ours, and pretty soon Riku, Selphie, and I are in a close knit circle, fighting the heartless. It's gone on for too long, and even Riku's panting. Then the heartless disappear. Selphie collapses on the ground melodramatically, and I lean against Riku, trying to catch my breath.

"Do you think that was all of them?" I ask Riku once I catch my breath. He doesn't answer, examining the forest.

"What were those things anyway?" Selphie asks, a rare frown on her usually happy go lucky face.

Suddenly a huge shadow appears before us. It's golden eyes glare at us and it stands higher than the trees. "Holy shit!" I exclaim. Usually I never use foul language, but this thing is huge. Riku drops Soul Eater and unsheathes his double blades.

"The bigger they are, the harder they fall!" He smirks and races toward the heartless, dodging its sloppy strikes. Grinning, I run after him and Selphie follows me.

I whack at his arm furiously, while Riku and Selphie attack it form different points. The huge shadow raises its large fists and a huge ball of darkness appears in its hands. It slams them into the ground, causing a tremor, and I almost fall, but a strong hand latches onto my arm and pulls me to my feet. Riku. The giant ball of darkness creates new, smaller monsters exactly like the ones we fought before. While Selphie and I destroy these creatures, Riku slashes at the large monster.

Finally, the monster collapses, but it breaks away into hundreds of new shadows. They attack us, and this time I can't lock everything. One of them slashes me across my arm and then my chest, and I scream in pain. Riku grabs me and tosses me under some brush.

"Wait here and don't make a single sound," he orders. I want to protest, but everything spinning, and soon I fall into a deep pit of darkness.

**Riku**

They're going to pay. Selphie and I stand back to back, and I can feel her heavy panting. She has various cuts spread over her arms and legs, but none of them are deep enough to be life threatening. Those things hurt Sora! I don't know why, but this makes me want to torture each and every one of them slowly and painfully until they die. Then again, when it comes to Sora, I don't know why I do anything. Why did I teach him to read? Why do I care what he thinks of me? Why did I kiss him?

I can feel Selphie go limp against my back, unconscious. Now that they're both unconscious I can fight fully. Summoning the raw power in my hands, I call upon one of my most powerful attacks, Dark Firaga. I can't use this when they're awake because magic is seen as witchcraft nowadays. Aiming my attack at the largest group of Heartless I fire, watching with a sadistic pleasure as they burn to death, black wisps of smoke rising into the air. I'm sending them all to hell. Pulling out Soul Eater again, I stand over Selphie, watching the rest of the shadows.

Two of them lunge at me, and I cut through them quickly, and then they all attack. Readying another Dark Firaga blast, I catch the last of the stupid creature in a fiery hell. I sheathe my mother's swords and Soul Eater, and lean down next to Selphie, checking her pulse. It's fairly strong, and even without treatment, she'll be fine.

Next I run over to Sora. I can still hear his scream echoing in y ears. He was so frightened, do hurt. His scream sent me to the end of my wits, more scared than I've ever been, since her. Am I really, falling in love again?

His pulse is weak, and he's so pale. I can see claw marks over his chest, and blood pouring from his arm. No, he can't die1 not when I only just found him! I old his fragile body in my arms, gathering him to me, trying to keep him warm.

"Wake up Sora. Come on, wake up." His unconscious body doesn't move. No!

"Ohh, isn't that so sad?" That man, that evil man, is back again.

"You bastard, what do you want?" Then my mouth goes dry. He's holding Selphie, small, innocent, cheery, Selphie in his arms. He chuckles, a horrible sound that even freaks me out.

"Now, now Riku. You shouldn't leave your friends all alone like you did to her. I could just slit her throat right now, and it'd all be over with, and then you'd lose both of your companions. But, I'm so nice that I'm not going to do that. You see, I want to make you suffer, and then kill you. I want to be the one to send you to Hell, Riku. But right now I can't do that, so instead, I'm going to heal your companions and let you live for another day. But remember, I'll come back, and when I do, you'll be sorry Riku. I'll make you sorry for what you did to me!" He points a finger at me, and I laugh.

"Kill, me? Don't you know, that's impossible!" He tosses Selphie over to me, along with a potion. I didn't even know these things existed anymore.

"There's always away, Riku. There's always a way." And with a swish of his cloak he's gone. I unscrew the potion and pour the majority of it into Sora's mouth, and the rest goes to Selphie. She awakens almost instantly, and I crush the glass bottle in my hands so that she doesn't see it. Most of Sora's wounds heal, but he remains unconscious. I gently lift him from the ground, and Selphie glances around curiously.

"Where did all of those shadows go?" She asks curiously. Choosing not to answer her question, I gently lift Sora, cradling him in my arms. There's this strong emotion pounding through me, starting from my chest whenever I look down at him. What is this feeling? It's the same one I had before, with her. Do I love him?

She was so beautiful…

"Riku! Where are we going today?" I smile at her innocence. She always sees the best in everything, no matter how horrible the world truly is. Her green eyes shimmer with happiness, and her dark brown, almost black, hair is pulled back into a ponytail. Her clothes aren't rich, nor do they accent her beauty, not that many people actually think she's beautiful. She's skinny, almost scrawny from starvation, and she's cursed with tan skin instead of pale skin. Everything about her defies society, and maybe that's why she's so beautiful.

_Once again, I pretend to be careless, shrugging. She'll never now how much I care for her, how much I love her. She giggles, and leaps towards me, wrapping her arms around my neck. "How can you be so gloomy when the weather's so nice? Everything's so beautiful!"_

_Leaning up, she places a chaste kiss on my cheek before she pulls away, blushing. I stand there in shock, my cheek tingling. "Come on now, or you'll miss all of the fun!" She pulls on my arm, and for onse, a bright red blush is spread across my cheeks. _

The only person since than to ever dared to mess with me was her, and when she was murdered, I think I snapped. At fourteen I couldn't handle my first crush being taken away from me, and yet I didn't do anything to stop myself from becoming a monster she would've hated.

I don't love her anymore, I don't think we were meant to be. Orilla, she was my first love, but my love faded. I glance down at the sleeping Sora. Will my feelings for Sora fade as well? I hope not, because he's one person I can see myself with, even if it's only a casual relationship, even if it's not romantic. I just want to be a part of his life…Because, I think I might love him.

We walk forward, me carrying Sora and two bags, and Selphie only lugging around one. "So, who was that guy?" Selph asks, looking slightly tired. I glance over at her.

"I don't know," I answer truthfully. Silence follows this, blissfully rare silence. Don't get me wrong, Selphie's an OK kid, she just tends to be a little annoying…

That night we rest at a small clearing in the forest. We're getting closer, I know it, somehow. Why does it really matter tough. Kairi and Namine, they'll die anyway, won't they? My brain tells me that, but I think my heart's speaking differently.

I'll save them, because somehow I know it will make Sora happy. To be with them will give him more happiness than anything else I can ever do.

Selphie curls up in her blanket like a cat, and I wrap Sora in mine. When she's asleep, I let down the cold walls that surround me, looking at him tenderly. I brush away a strand of his messy, spiky brown hair, reveling in its softness. Even though the spikes look like daggers, they're soft as silk. His skin is so smooth, like the finest satin, and pearl pink, pouty lips are begging to be kissed again. It can't be natural for anyone to look that perfect. He must be from above.

"You guys are so cute!" A sudden squeal disturbs my reverie, and I turn just in time to be tackled by a now recharged and hyper-active Selphie.

"Oooh! I should've never stopped you two from making out, you're so adorable together!" This girl confuses me… She snuggles me and messes up my hair.

"Welcome to the family, Mr. Riku! Sorry about the slut comment!" I look at her like she's possessed, and she just grins. Welcome to the family…? Sora doesn't like me that much, does he?

"Duh! It's so obvious he loves you! You guys would so make the perfect couple! Too bad you can't have children, they'd be too cute! With your hair and Sora's eyes, or maybe your eyes and Sora's hair, but they definitely have to get your killer body, Riku…" After that, she rambles on so fast I can barely follow her, and I stare at Sora, a small blush forming on my cheeks. Could it be? Does he really love me? Maybe, just maybe I'll be free of this life sooner than I thought.

**Heaven**

"Damn it!" Leon shouts, pounding his fist into the table. All of the gods look angry, frown lines marring each one of their faces.

"At least he survived," Yuffie, ever the optimist, voices.

"Yeah, but that psychopath could kill them while they sleep, or the heartless could finish the job…" Leon, the eternal pessimist argues. With a serious look on his face, Cloud speaks.

"We'll just have to see how this plays out." The other gods stare at him before Yuffie pokes his spiky hair.

"Shut it Chocobo head! You don't know anything more than we do!" Cloud glares at her.

"Well, at least I'm not the hyper stupid one!" He shouts, temper high from the strain of their current mission.

"Who are you calling stupid, at least I'm not a blonde!" Yuffie's standing now, as well as Cloud, glaring daggers at each other. Slowly, the other two, slightly more sane members back away from the brawling towards safety.

"I bet twenty on Yuffie," Leon says. Sephiroth smirks.

"Why?" He asks, obviously thinking Yuffie's going down.

"Never mess with a PMSing goddess." Sephiroth looks at him for a second, seeming to calculate his options, before he pulls out a fifty.

"I bet fifty on Cloud. Never mess with a blonde's hair."

Twenty minutes later, Sephiroth counts his money, placing his earnings back into his pocket as Leon glares at him. Meanwhile, Yuffie's sulking in the other corner while Cloud checks to make sure every spike is in place. Then suddenly, Yuffie laughs, the golden sound echoing though the empty white halls of heaven. Cloud soon joins her, and Sephiroth smirks. Leon even manages to crack a smile. Down on Earth, two boys and a girl are finally at peace, and up in heaven, there's laughter for the first time in a long time. Maybe it's a sign of things to come?

**Sora**

Warmth. So much warmth surrounding me. I crack my eyes open to see Riku, sleeping beside me, beautiful eyes closed and body relaxed. He's so vulnerable in his sleep. I snuggle beck into his chest, tucking my head under his chin, enjoying his unique smell, and fall back into a light sleep.

"Hello Sora." It's that voice! The hooded man is back! I desperately search around for a weapon, but wherever I am, there's nothing to protect me. He lands in front of me in his long black cape.

"_What do you want?" I ask, hoping that Riku will suddenly appear to protect me._

"_Riku can't reach you here, but it doesn't matter. I'm not here to hurt you." His voice is so smooth, yet It reeks of deceit. _

"_Where is here?" I ask. My patience for this man has run out._

"This is your dream Sora, so why don't you tell me." I look around, seeing that we're nowhere, really. The entire place is gray, and it seems like we're floating on air instead of walking on any type of ground. 

"Besides, we have mush more important matters to attend to, like your sisters. Wouldn't you like to see them?" Before I can answer him, Kairi and Namine are before me, gagged and bound, but it's definitely them, and they're definitely alive. I run towards them, but I hit a force field and fly backwards, landing flat on my rear.

"_Kairi, Namine!" I yell to my sisters. Kairi's crying, fighting against her gags, but Namine looks calm. Frightened yet calm, and that's what scares me._

"_Please, let them go!" I beg. "What did we ever do to you?" I've never even met this man before today! He laughs._

"_I'll give them back under one condition. The boy Riku," my heart freezes as he continues, "he's the one I'm after, it's a matter of revenge." Revenge, what did Riku do? _

"_However, as long as that damn spell protects him he won't die. However, there is a loophole Sora. Someone he loves can kill him. Riku doesn't love you yet, buthe will eventually. Flirt with him, lead him on, and when he's so in love with you he doesn't even suspect you, kill him and bring me his dead body. Then I'll give you your sisters back."_

_Kill Riku? I think of Riku with his cold eyes and hidden pain. Him writhing underneath mw as I tickled him. Him teaching me to read, his eyes before our kiss. He's grown on me, but then I think of my sisters. I'll do anything for them. After all, I've only known Riku a few weeks, but I've known Kairi and Namine for a lifetime. My heart is in turmoil, but my mind knows what to do._

"_How will I ring his body to you?" I ask, my voice strangely emotionless. The hooded man laughs._

"_I'll contact you when that happens." He and my sisters start to fade away, but I can see Namine's eyes. They're asking for something, but I don't know what. She seems to know something the rest of us don't. And then they're gone, and I wake up._

Riku's large aqua eyes stare down at me with masked concern and caring… I never saw that beforewhen I looked into his eyes. He seems so sincere, and I almost regret doing this, almost. I smile seductively, wrapping my arms around him and pulling him closer. I can see the small blush tinting his pale cheeks. He looks so sweet, but I have to go through with this.

"So, why don't we continue what we were doing before Selphie interrupted?" I ask, leaning up and kissing him on the lips. He kisses me back, passionately, and I hold back my tears. This is the only way to save them, the only way.


	6. betrayal

Hola! Thanx for the reviews! Been busy with a Spanish project, so this chappie might be a little short. By the way, the name I used, Orilla, I'm pretty sure it means shore, but I'm nut positive. So, any spanish speakers…Help? Also, I'm finally starting PS's sequel, Mirror Image! Thanx for the title goes to Mitskie Zala! Gracias, Merci, thank you, arigatou, ect.

Hurleygulr: Gracias! Thanx so so so much!

Zachary: Glad you enjoyed it! Sorry for taking so long!

Jenni Sunshine: Jenni Moonlight- Thanx so much! I love your story 'Sora, the fallen Angel.' You are one person, right? Anyway, I hope you update soon!

Mako: If you want to cry, read my other fic, Painful Salvation, it's a real tearjerker, with a happy ending cause I'm a sap like that! Plus, I don't usually kill off characters, so unless I mess up in Kingdom Hearts and can't kill someone, they're probably not dying! Probably…

DancingMistress: You know me buy now, and I'm always evil like this! MWAHAHAHAHA! I love to write, so updating isn't really a big thing, unless I'm overworked or completely grow tired of a story, (like Bonds of Love) and need a huge few month break from it!

Animefreak14: Sorry I haven't been on, too busy! Glad you likey the ficcey, and please keep reviewing!

Dr. Von Doom: Really? I don't really likey this ficcey as much as my other KH one, Painful Salvation. In fact, I wrote the first chappie at 3am, and the next day I was like, 'what the hell is this?' Thanx for the review!

Kshindou25: Gracias! I'm glad you're addicted!

Karamsgirl13: Hehehehehe! Maybe I will maybe I won't! If you're looking for a tearjerker with a happy ending, try Painful Salvation, my other story. It's really ansty, but none die!

Itbeca: Thanx…The sequel, I really don't know. I'm in the process of moving, so it may be awhile, but probably before the end of March!

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts!

**Riku**

His lips are so soft, and he tastes like the sweetest honey. I pull back and look into his eyes. His marvelous, innocent, blue eyes. They're so beautiful.

"Sora," I whisper, reaching out a gloved hand to stroke his cheek. He smiles, his eyes strangely bright, and a tear drips down his face.

"What's wrong?" I ask. He shakes his head, the spikes getting even messier, and snuggles his head into my chest.

"I love you Riku," he whispers, wrapping his arms around me. I stiffen and pull away slightly. Do I love him? Do I really love him? I don't… I don't know. He's become so important to me, but at the same time I just don't know. I've only known him for about a month, so is this just a crush, or am I really in love.

"Riku…?" He asks. I don't want to hurt him, but I don't want to lie to him either. I pull away, leaving his warm embrace, and turn around. He wraps his arms around me from behind and snuggles his head into my back. I smile a little bit, and put a hand over his arms. Maybe I am falling in love?

Whatever this feeling is, I just know that I want to be with him.

"Riku…" 

Who the hell is that? If this is Selphie playing some immature joke, I swear I'll…

"Riku…" 

I scoot out of Sora's arms, wrapping them around spare blanket instead, and quietly look at him. Sora looks so innocent, so angelic, sleeping like that. Kneeling, I place a light kiss on his forehead and run off.

"Riku…" 

"Who the hell is this?" I scream angrily. It's the night middle of the night!

"Be warned…" 

Of what? It's not like I can die. I wait a few minutes, the tense silence cutting into the night. A light breeze floats past, blowing the leaves across the ground. The voice doesn't return.

Suddenly, the wind picks up, and something hits me square in the chest.

It's a lavender strip of cloth, silk and richly made. It's part of the dress I gave to Kairi! That means we're one step closer.

Then I notice the footprints on the ground. Two people walking, two being dragged. This must be it, the trail.

"Sora!" I call, racing back to camp. We're so close, every minute counts. Sora and Sewlphie look sleepily up at me and I throw everything into our pack.

"I found a trail. It's fresh, and who ever came through was only here about an hour ago. We must make haste." Sora and Selphie are wide-awake, helping load the equipment. Soon we're off, trailing the kidnappers by the trail.

**Sora**

Ummm… Riku's so warm. I snuggle closer into him, wrapping my arms tighter around him. No! I can't get attached. I have to kill him. It's the only way to save Kairi and Namine. And besides, I've only known him for about a month, so it's not like he's as important as my sisters, right?

I loosen my grip on him, when I see her. Namine. She's right in front of Riku, calling his name. She doesn't even see me. I reach out to her, but my arm passes through her. What the…? Riku stirs, looking right through Namine who just smiles. I pretend to be asleep as Riku loosens my arms from around him and kisses me on the forehead. Then he follows Namine off into the forest.

My forehead is tingling, and somehow I feel protected, like Riku will always be there to save me. But he won't, because I'm going to kill him, and then he'll be sent to hell. I shouldn't get attached, but then if I'm not attached, what is this feeling buried inside of me. It's almost as if I really do love him.

That can't be, can it. Suddenly, Namine appears before me. "Don't be afraid Sora. It's okay to love him. It's your destiny." Namine? I reach out for her, but my hand passes right through her.

"What does this mean?" I ask. She smiles a bit more, this intelligently sad look in her eyes, as if she knows what will happen, but she can't stop it.

"It means…" She looks down at me with those depressing eyes, "that fate is finally taking place." She disappears, vanishing into thin air.

Everything goes black, and before I know it, Riku's screaming my name and we're off hunting for Kairi and Namine. Only they don't know it's a wild goose chase. The only way to get Kairi and Namine back is to kill Riku.

I follow him, watching him as he bends over to check the trail. His ass is so…. Okay, I never thought that, or maybe I did. Physical attraction is harmless, as long as I don't actually fall for him. Though he's so perfect it's hard not to.

Shoulder length, silky silver hair that glimmers in the sun and glows in the moonlight, illuminating his pale skin and thin pink lips. And his eyes, the embodiment of perfection, as if the ocean is peering out at you from cold eyes that hide so much. They hide so much love, caring, so much kindness that Riku definitely considers weak.

His personality hides so much also. He keeps up his cold façade, pretending not to care, but he's really worried on the inside. He's worried…About Kairi and Namine. He's worried that they'll die, that I'll die, and I'm plotting to kill him.

When I do kill him, will I ever be able to get over the guilt of his blood staining my hands?

**Heaven**

"This isn't right! How dare that _thing _do that to our plans! It's not right! Love should never be used to help hate!" Yuffie's steaming, red in the face with vivid anger.

"Yuffie, love has always been used for the wrong purposes. Love is inextricably bound to hatred, just as light is forever bound to darkness. One cannot have happiness without suffering. The two both exist for a reason. Remember, our job isn't to eliminate one, it's to keep balance between the two." Yuffie seems to only get angrier at Sephiroth's words, plopping into her seat.

"Sephiroth's right," Leon's deep voice adds in, "we must wait for fate to decide what is going to happen. We're only here to guide and observe."

All the male gods nod in agreement, and Yuffie sighs. "I know, but, why is life down there so harsh?" The gods are silent for a while, and no one answers. After all, there are no answers when human greed is involved.

**Sora**

The trail is dwindling down, but something's coming up, something big. I know Riku and Selphie can feel it. Selphie's stiff as a cornered animal, and Riku's hand is at the hilt of Soul Eater. Our nerves are so strung, anything could set us off.

"Let's rest for tonight," I suggest, my voice surprising even me. Though we do desperately need a rest. After all, I need more time to get Riku to fall in love with me. Then Riku tosses me a wooden sword.

"Let's spar." It's more like a command than a suggestion. I ready my wooden sword and lunge at him. I think he did this on purpose, because he knows I need to vent. He blocks my attack smoothly, without even flinching. His cold façade is back on, and at that moment, I hate him so much. I hate his false coldness. How can he be so emotionless when my sisters are in danger? How can he be so carefree wen they could be dead?

I barely notice pushing him backwards. I barely notice his eyes widening in surprise. I barely notice dodging his attacks with ease. The next thing I know, I'm over him with my fake sword pressed against his neck and panting. For once, he's panting as well.

"I win," I smirk, but his foot comes out and trips my, sending me crashing to the ground.

"Like I said before-" he says between gasps, "I never loose."

Now's the perfect time for my act. I snuggle up to him, wrapping my arms around him and burying my head into his chest. "Riku, I love you."

He stiffens, but he doesn't pull away. It's progress. He wraps his arms around me and pulls me closer. He doesn't say anything for a while, but the silence is comfortable.

"Sora?" He asks.

"Hmmm…" I mutter tiredly.

"Do you know all of the constellations?" He flips us over so we're side by side, looking up into the majestic night sky.

"No," I answer. "Can you teach me?" He weaves our hands together and uses his free hand to point upwards at the stars.

"This is the North star…" I listen absentmindedly, absorbing the knowledge, but most of me is working on memorizing his face. His bright eyes, his silky hair, everything about him is so perfect.

"So, do you know what the stars are?" I ask, pointing to a bright star that catches my eye. He squeezes my hand in his, and I can feel myself blushing. I'm probably as red as a tomato.

"I heard that every star is a different world. And when a star goes out it means a world is dying." He turns towards me, and traces his free hand over my face, cupping my cheek in his hand.

"There's no need to be afraid Sora." He whispers.

"Why not?" I ask, nervous, happy and sad all at the same time. I think I just realized that I love him, and I don't think I can kill him. I don't think I've ever been able to kill him.

He leans in towards me, mouth brushing my ear, and whispers, "because I love you too."

No. This can't happen, not when I made that promise. Now I have to kill him. I have to murder him when I just realized that I live him. Whoever said 'it's better to love and to lose than to never love at all' didn't know what the hell they were talking about.

I don't really have a choice though. Inside I'm dying, but outside I smile and hug him, breathing in his scent for the last time, because tomorrow he'll be gone. He falls asleep in about an hour, but I stay up, wondering if I made the right choice, and crying inside because I already know the answer.

I'll kill him tomorrow.

Heaven 

"This isn't going so well," Sephiroth states, a small frown marring his face.

"You're telling me!" Yuffie shouts, almost angrily, stomping her foot. "If Sora kills Riku, everything is ruined and we have to go with the second option! There's no way in hell I'm going to give partial control of heaven to that maniac!"

"Do remember, those maniacs are two halves of a whole. So each one is the reflection of the other." Cloud speaks calmly, eyes facing downwards and arms crossed in thought.

"What if he is the person directing all of this?" Leon asks.

"That's impossible!" Yuffie cries. "How would he know?"

"It is possible," Sephiroth drawls, "but not likely. Besides, that shouldn't be our main concern. Our main concern should be preventing Riku from dying."

His words strike true, and the gods settle in to think for a while. Even Yuffie is dead silent.

"Right now Riku is only using one side of his heart, the dark side. What if we teach him to use the other side as well?" Cloud suggests. Suddenly, Sephiroth grins eerily.

"That can be my job."

**Riku**

I hate when they come to my dreams like this. Who? The gods, of course. The last time they came was when they sentenced me to this, and now that I'm finally free, here they come again.

"Hello Riku," a voice calls my name, and I turn to face a tall, silver haired man with greenish eyes.

"Hello," I speak cautiously but confidently.

He pulls out an incredibly long sword from it's sheath, and the metal gleams in the pure white expanse we're in.

"The gods have asked me to test you. Can you defeat me?" His smirk is really beginning to get on my nerves.

"I can try," I reply. He lunges at me with unpredicted speed and I barely manage to block with the two swords that appear in my hand.

**I**i don't have any time to attack before he strikes again. Damn he's fast! And he's strong too. If one of those strikes had hit me, I would have been dead.

The dance continues, he attacks constantly, keeping me from attacking, while I block all of his hits. My arms are starting to shake after each strike, proof of his strength when I see an opening.

I shoot my dark firaga at him, and it hits, only to have nothing happen.

"Did you really think you could hit me, a god, with an attack of darkness?" he laughs, a cold sound that fills me with dread.

"Look at you're weapons." Despite my rebellious nature, I take a look at the twin blades that appeared in my hands. One is completely black with a dark purple handle, and a scythe like blade curved at the end.

The other one is similar, but it is a bright silver, almost blinding, and unlike the other one, t seems to hold a beautiful light somewhere deep down inside. The handle is the exact shade of Sora's eyes.

"Those keyblades represent your heart. You are a very…Unusual case, seeing as you have the exact same amount of light in darkness in your heart. However, you only use one side. If you are to be useful to us, you must learn to harness the other side, the light inside your heart. When you do that, then you can defeat me."

The light in my heart. He must mean my love…For Sora. That is my light, and that's the reason why the blade has a handle the color of his eyes.

"Riku!" Sora' voice!

I instantly wake up to see Sora staring at me, eyes wide with fear. Shadows surround us, and Selphie's bravely fighting them off, but there are way too many. The keyblades come to my hands, their new weight somehow familiar.

He told me to harness the light.

My light is Sora. The Sora with wide, innocent blue eyes, the Sora who I would die for, the Sora I love.

Light gathers in my hands and I grasp the silver keyblade in both hands, letting the other one fall to the ground. I jam the keyblade into the soil, and light bursts from it, heading out in a huge circle, destroying the heartless on it's path of destruction.

Then the dizziness comes over me. Black dots spin before my eyes, and the surroundings are blurry. Sora catches me, and I lean on him for once. The man from he ambush appears.

"Very good Sora, you did a fantastic job." What the hell? What's he talking about?

"Sorry Riku," Sora whispers and grab the blade I gave him, the blade that belongs to the only two people I've ever truly loved, and runs it through my stomach.

It hurts so bad, and I can feel the blood pouring from my wound, tasting the coppery substance in my mouth. I slip from his support and fall to the ground with a heavy thump. But none of this hurts as much as the hude hole in my heart. How could Sora do this. He told me he loved me. He tricked me. I can hear Selphie running towards me, crying for me, and yelling at Sora.

I look into his eyes, and I don't see the innocent boy I fell in love with. I see a monster, a cruel and hideous monster.

"I hate you Sora," Those are my last words before everything goes black.

**Sora**

I want t cry, but now isn't the time for that. "We had a deal," I tall the man. "Where are my sisters?" Selphie looks t me with horror in her eyes.

"Deal? Sora, what deal are you talking about?" The man turns towards me.

"I reconsidered the deal. I really don't think it's fair, after all, you only did one thing to me and I have to give you two girls. Here's one of your sisters, the other will stay with me. He tosses me Namine, unconscious and dirty, and before I can protest, he disappears along with Riku's body.

"Sora, what deal did you make with that monster?" Selphie practically screams. I look away in shame.

"You can't be Sora! The Sora I knew would never sacrifice an innocent person for anything!" I stare at her.

"It was for my sisters, Selphie." She glares at me then.

"There were other ways, Sora. You were never forced to kill anyone." She turns away from me and lifts Namine. She's small, but she's definitely not weak.

"Where are you going?" I ask. She turns around and looks at me as if I'm pond scum. Perhaps I am.

"I'm taking Namine and going home. Nobody's safe around you Sora. Maybe you'll sacrifice me next to get back Kairi." No I would never…

"He really loved you Sora! You broke his shell. A shell he's been working on for a long time. He trusted you and you stabbed him in the back, or actually the stomach. Goodbye Sora!" And with that she turns away, grabbing most of he money and her supplies. And then she's gone.

And I'm left alone.

Now is the time for crying, so I look to the sky and let the tears run down my face. The sky is gray and gloomy, perfect for today. Why did I do it? I can still see the pure love, the pure trust in his eyes when he told me he loved me. He was completely open, and their was so much pain, so much he wanted me to heal.

But I only made things worse. The pain in his eyes when he told me he hated me, too much sorrow for anyone to hold. He was always there to protect me, to take care of me when I was sick, yet I failed him. I failed him in the worst possible way. I don't know who I hate more right now, the hooded man, or myself.


	7. Pain

About Mirror Image…Whenever I start writing that one I think about this one, so I'm going to wait until after I finish CBH to get to it… Don't worry though, only a few chappies left! Loved all the reviews, and I'm horribly sorry about the giant lapse in update time!

Levilights: I don't think I made Sora a monster, but thanx for the review! I try my best to make everyone happy with it!

Shira Matakami: I love cookies! But Riku's mine! All mine I tell you! Nah, actually, he belongs to Sora!

JSJM: Sorry for shortening your name, but it's so long! I'm too lazy! Thanx for the review! Also, I hope you can update you story 'Sora, the Fallen Angel', cause I'm loving it!

Dancing Mistree: I'll try to update as soon as is possible!

TheAnimeFreak14: Riku's still alive (barely), and kicking (kinda…) Thanx for the review!

Kmsweetness: Mwahahahahahahahaahaha! I'm so very evil! Gracias for the review! I'll try to update faster!

Kuramasgirl13: This story might have a dark ending, but then again it depends on your definition of dark… Not giving anything else away! And yes, I love PS too! It's my baby!

**Riku**

Where am I?

It's dank and cold, like a dungeon, not that I can see much with the cloth they've bound my eyes with. The entire place smells like rotting flesh, and I can almost see the grotesque bodies, twisted with expressions unfit for this world; large, gaping wounds home to worms and other disgusting creatures.

Is this where I am going to die?

My stomach hurts so much, the pain spreading throughout my limbs, burning and paralyzing my weakened body. I can feel the warm blood dripping from my side, each drop echoing on the stone floor, a gory symphony in the silent dungeon.

I'm not supposed to be able to die, not supposed to feel pain for this long. Why hasn't it healed? Why is there still pain? The gods told me that I couldn't die unless I fell in love with someone and they loved me back. I am in love, but there's no way Sora could love me. The soaring pain in my stomach is a constant reminder of that.

But as crazy as it is, I still love him. Some part of me deep down knows that, and there's no use denying it. He could kill me a million times and I'd still love him. And it hurts. It hurts so badly it makes the stab wound seem like a tiny scrape.

I just don't know anymore. I love him, but I don't want to see him ever again. It would hurt too much. Why? What did I ever do wrong to deserve all of this? The people I killed deserved to be murdered! They killed my people first. They destroyed my family, friends, and everyone I ever came to care for because we weren't of the proper class. We were peasants, robbers, dirt on the streets just trying to survive by any means, and they still thought they needed to wipe us out.

They ruined everything we did, broke us over and over until no one could piece together the shattered hearts of those who've lost, and lived through it.

It's people like that who create people like me.

Suddenly, the door swings open, the old hinges creaking loudly. Footsteps near me, but I can't do anything to fight back. Even if I could stand, both my arms and legs are chained to the floor, the frigid, biting metal burning my skin and sending shivers to my bones.

His footsteps are evenly spaced and confident, not like the hooded man from before. This is a different person altogether.

"Get up!" A smooth, deep voice yells, accompanied by a boot to the stomach. I hold in a scream of pain, biting through my lip with the effort. God damn it, why am I so weak? If love does this to you, I wish I could just rip out the part of my heart that feels and throw it to the sharks.

After undoing my chains, the man lifts me up and off my feet by my shoulder. "So you are Riku?" He touches my face with a cold hand, and deep inside my heart lurches, as if someone's squeezing it.

"You know, it's always polite to introduce yourself to your guests," I spat out, ignoring the coppery taste of blood in my mouth.

His hand grips my cheek tighter, moving down to my jaw, and he squeezes. With a huge crunch, my jaw shatters, and then I scream. But it's only for a second, because without the ability to move my jaw,I can't say anything.

"Good boy. You shouldn't talk back to your elders." He pats my jaw, and my mind explodes with pain, pure pain. He turns on a bright light, and it casts a yellowish glow through my blindfold.

"You don't look anywhere near hurt enough." What the hell is this mother fucking bastard talking about? He drops me to the ground, and I land hard on my butt. I don't even have time to recover before he kicks me in the ribs. I sputter, blood trailing down from the corner of my mouth before he snaps my arm. It all hurts so much… Too much.

The last thing I remember is a huge bash to my lag, shattering it, before the pain was just too much. The dots dancing in my eyes expand until they cover my vision and I'm trapped in a world of black. Sora, why did you do this to me? Why did you betray me? Why? I loved you…

**Sora**

Riku!

No… I just had the worst dream. It felt so real, and to horrible to be a creation of my mind. In it, Riku was being brutally beaten, broken limbs and cuts littered his body, and he couldn't even fight back. It's like he had every inch of him kicked or hit. I could feel so much pain. And not just physical pain. He still loves me, and he's still hurting because of what I did to him. He might be dying because of me.

Wait, wasn't that the point, to kill him? Yes, of course it was, but it should've been quick and painless, not what they put him though. I wouldn't wish that on my enemies, much less Riku.

Beautiful, quirky, stoic, hilarious Riku, everything I could ever need and want embodied in one person. I love him so much, when he declared his hatred for me, it felt like he ripped the other half of my heart out. I have to find him, save him. I need to, or else I'll never be able to forgive myself.

And of course Kairi too. She's my sister and she never did anything to deserve this. At least Riku's a murderer, Kairi's innocent.

I need a weapon. I lost the one Riku gave me when I stabbed him with it, but I can't save him without one. then I see it, laying on the ground.

It's completely back, except for the purple handle, and it seems to radiate power, and danger.

Oblivion

The name comes to me naturally, and with shaky hands I reach out to the dark weapon.

It disappears…

As soon as my hand touched the cool, metallic surface, it vanished from under my hand as if it didn't belong there. In it's place is a new weapon, looking like an overgrown house key with it's bright orangy-gold color seeming out of place amongst the gray mass of land surrounding me.

It fits perfectly in my hand, the blade an extension of my arm, not too heavy or too light, perfect for wielding.

Experimenting, I swing the blade around, hearing as it cuts through the wind, a swift, deadly sound. It too disappears from my hand, but I can feel a nagging in the back of my head. It's bonded to me, and I can call whenever I need it.

Looks like I found a weapon.

**Riku**

Pain.

Pure pain surrounding me, inside of me. Paralyzing me, seeping the life from my body with each passing second. The silver cuffs they bound my wrists with are unnecessary. I couldn't move anyways. Every part of me aches, and I'm cold.

Not just the cold that you get when you go outside in the middle of the winter, but a totally penetrating, bone deep cold that stays inside of me, freezing me.

Am I conscious or not? Everything's so dark I can't tell. I probably wouldn't be able to see anything in here even if I did have time to allow my eyes to adjust to the dark.

They told me to harness the light.

My light is Sora. I can see his innocent smile, those bright blue eyes staring at me, welcoming me to a world where I don't have to suffer anymore, a world where everything is perfect.

I can't reach that light. His light has left me. Left me here alone in the darkness with no strength left to get out.

I hate him, but somehow I still…Love him.

And for the first time in a long time, tears drip from my eyes, washing away the blood and dirt. My need for death is even more driving now than it has ever been before.

I can still see his face if I close my eyes, and I wish all the pain could just vanish.

I want so badly for it all just to end.

He's coming again, I can hear him. His footsteps echo through the nearly soundless halls, aforewarning what's soon to come.

"Have you been a good boy while I'm gone?" He asks, laughing evilly. His golden eyes glow in the darkness, the only part of him I can see. I glare at him in response.

"Fuck you," I manage to get out before the overwhelming pain in my jaw stops me.

"No, I think I'll do that later. Right now I'm in the mood to fuck your boyfriend." Sora! If he touches a hair on his head, I'll rip him limb from limb, and I'll make him pray for death. If I could only get up…

"How could you do that when you can't even move?" His taunts are getting on my nerves, but they're true. I can't move. It hurts too much. But for Sora… I'd die for Sora.

I hate every moment of it, but I would still gladly face an eternity of hell just to see him smiling.

One thing bothers me though. Why me? Why is he after me?

"My dear boy, I'm not the one after you, though I must admit your death benefits me greatly. If you must know, he's the one who's after you." How did he know? Can he read thoughts?

"We are one in the same, two different sides of the same heart. If you tried hard enough, you would be able to read my mind too." Fuck you! I glare while sending him my mental comments.

Suddenly, the door opens, blinding me with bright white light, and a man steps through. He pulls off the hood to his caped outfit, revealing light brown hair and pale blue eyes.

"Hello Riku, do you know who I am?" If I had the ability to, I would shake my head no, but my mind and body are clouded with pain, making it impossible for me to make even the simplest movements.

"I'll give you a hint. Castle Oblivion, the home you stole two hundred years ago belonged to my great grandfather. He was set on destroying filth like you, but somehow the peasants revolted and he perished. You ruined my, the great Marluxia's, life." So, he deserved it. At least when I go to hell, I have him there to keep me company.

"On that day, you stole everything from my family. And now, I'm going to make you suffer as much as I suffered. And by the end of it, Hell will seem like heaven to you."

And they both vanished. Gone. Leaving me alone in this room with only the silence and the pain… And the knowledge that I'm going to die. It's going to be soon, I can feel the demons of death closing in on me. They long to taste my flesh, flesh they've been denied do long.

A sudden fit of coughing spreads blood across the floor. Yes, it won't be long now. Marluxia won't be able to torture me, because all already be dead.

And I've never felt happier.

**Heaven**

"Shit! What do we do?" A frantic Yuffie paces around the room, nervous. All of the gods seem dispirited, even Sephiroth.

"We just see how everything plays out. Whatever happens is what's meant to be." Sephiroth's words bring wisdom and truth, but they don't ease the troubled souls of the gods.

"Why is it that we were blessed with phenomenal powers, yet we're never able to use them?" Cloud asks unexpectedly.

"If we used them, what would be the fun in mortal life?" Sephiroth asks, smiling faintly.

"How can a life be fun, when you spend each day knowing that one day you'll die. I don't understand mortals." At this Sephiroth laughs.

"That's why we don't interfere with their lives. We're hear to learn from them, because mortals hold a wisdom the gods can never grasp."

Yuffie turns towards him, a curious expression on her face. "And what's that?" She asks.

Sephiroth's grin widens. "They learn how to live."

**Sora**

Riku, Kairi, where are you? I need to find you. I need you period. God Riku, if you die before I apologize… Why? Why did this happen to us? My sisters and I were just regular people. Why were we thrown into this ragged mess?

I need to find Kairi and save her. And I need to find Riku and tell him I love him. And this time I'll really mean it. I won't have to fake it. I love you Riku. Gods, I love you more than the world itself.

I was so stupid, so stupid. I have to say sorry. I have to see you one last time. You have to live to see me again. All you need to do is live.

"Hello Sora, looking for her?" He appears, carrying Kairi in his arms. Rage pounds through me as I notice a large, nasty looking bruise on his forehead.

"Give her back!" I scream, summoning the key blade to my hands. He just smirks and tosses her to me.

"Gladly, all the bitch has done is complain." That bastard.

"Fuck you! What gave a bastard like you the right to call Kairi anything?" He laughs.

"Nothing, except the fact that I hold her life in my hands." He holds up a small vile in his hand, filled with a purple liquid.

"Can you save them both Sora? Can you get the antidote for Kairi and save Riku before time runs out?" I glare angrily at him, but right now he holds all the cards.

"The poison will be incurable in three days Sora, approximately the same amount of time it will take Riku to die from blood loss. I will be waiting for you in the castle at the other end of the forest with the antidote and Riku. Can you save them both?" He disappears, laughing, and taking the vile with him. That bastard, I'll kill him.

Grabbing Kairi, I run towards the forest. Three days, that isn't long enough for me to take Kairi with me. I have to leave her somewhere safe. On queue, two travelers pop out of the forest like a sign.

"You two, can you watch this girl for three days?" I ask the red-headed stranger.

"Ya," he replies with a thick accent. "Why?" He smiles at me and I gently hand Kairi over to him.

"If I don't return in three days, can you make sure she dies happy?" The red headed stranger nods at me looking totally confused yet completely trusting. His companion, a blond boy, whispers in his ear.

"How do you know we can trust him? The girl could be a thief, or infected with the plague." What if they don't do this? Everything depends on how fast I can get to the castle and back. I won't be able to save either of them if I have to carry Kairi the entire way.

"I don't know him, Tidus, but he looks like a nice person, ya? He'll be back in three day an' nothin' bad will happen, ya?" Tidus shrugs, and I smile.

"Thank you so much! When I come back, I'll make sure you two are greatly rewarded." At this Tidus smiles, taking extra care to gently lift Kairi into the cart.

"In that case we'll set up camp now! See ya in three days!" Nodding, I run into the forest. Leaving Kairi with strangers probably isn't the safest thing to do, but it's the only way. Besides, with the promise of money, they probably won't do anything wrong.

"I'm coming Riku," I say to myself, "I'll save you soon enough!" With that thought in mind, I push myself even faster. I have to save them both before time runs out.


	8. And They'll Always be Together

HI people! Thanx for the reviews! I'm so happy! This is the last Chappie! Now I can focus on Mirror Image! I want to thank everybody for everything, especially for sticking with me! Love you all!

Ink2: Gracias, I hope you enjoy the rest of the story!

DR.Von Doom: Thanx for the review! It's okay that you haven't been able to keep up!

Itsbeca: Yeah, stupid Sora! Hurting poor Riku! Hope you like this Chapter!

JS:JM: Thanx! Loved the new chapter of your story, but for some reason, stupid hasn't allowed me to send any reviews for your story!

Shiri Matakami: Thank you for the cookie! Runs around on cookie high I love Wakka too! His accent is so cool!

DancingMistress: Gracias! I hope you like this chapter!

Animefreak14: Your never on AIM! Thanx for the review, and I hope we can talk too!

Kuramasgirl13: I didn't put that particular twist in, cause I wasn't trying to make Ansem a pedophile (for once). You know the sad ending you wanted… Well, this ending might or might not be sad, depending on your definition…

Caged by Hate

Riku

"So, what do we do with him now?" Marluxia's voice rings out. It's soft, far away, like he's miles from me even though in reality, only a few feet separate us. The pain is still there, like thousands of knives have been stabbed into me, and my arms and legs are numb and cold from the loss of circulation. The coldness is the worse. It goes right through me, shivering me to the bone. I hate him with every fiber in my being. I don't think it's even possible for me to hate anybody more than I hate him.

"Right now he's feeding off my energy to keep himself alive, but he'll be too weak to do that for long. Your guess was wrong Marluxia. He'll be gone in less than a day, at best." Wait, I stand corrected. I hate that man even more. I wish I could rip his throat out right now. I'd be all too happy to do so, if only I could move from this spot.

"You think the boy will come?" Marluxia asks. Boy? Sora! NO, that would be too painful, too cruel. Ansem laughs, a heartless, demeaning sound.

"It would be so much fun if he does decide to. Riku would hurt so much. I can almost feel his delicious pain right now." Sick bastard. Does he have the audacity to kiss his mother with that mouth?

"My mother was a bitch. She didn't deserve to be kissed." Of course not, if she managed to raise a bastard like you.

"Shut the fuck up," Ansem says, coming over, most likely to beat the shit out of me. Marluxia grabs his arm.

"Now, now Ansem. We need him to at least last until Sora gets here. Where would the fun go if you beat him to death first?" Ansem glares at me before he lowers his fist. Poor little boy can't even beat up his bound hostage anymore. He's probably scared that if he let me go I'd beat the shit out of him with over half the bones in my body broken. That little pansy ass bastard-

"You know, after we kill Sora you'll be of no use and then I'll make you scream. You'll feel pain like you've never felt before." Oh, I'm sooo scared! Man, I wish I could talk right now. The sarcastic sound just doesn't sound right in my head.

Ansem glares at me. I laugh, on the inside of course. Ansem looks around, and seeing that Marluxia's gone, he walks over to me and kicks me in the ribs. Damn, that hurts like hell! I cough up even more blood, adding to the impossibly large pile collecting on the floor, and Ansem walks away.

I wait until he's gone, and then I allow myself to pass out again.

Sora

I have to find him. I race through the forest, defying time as I struggle to get there before sunset. The first of my three days are almost up, but I have to get to him. Blood loss, that means my dream was right. They've probably hurt him so badly, hurt my Riku.

I love him so much. I can't believe it took me so long to realize that I care for him. I hurt him, tried to kill him, and now they're hurting him even more. Trees flow by me, a solid mass of green, with a few yellow or orange leaves the exception, precluding to the coming of fall. Will Riku be alive to see it? Will Kairi be alive? I remember last fall, how Kairi used to run out into the trees, playing in the leaves as they fell around her. I think fall was a magical time to her, and I would always be right there beside her, playing, smiling, and laughing.

I can practically picture a fall with him. He'd insist it was autumn and tell us we'd have to clean up whatever mess we made in the leaves and the mud, but his eyes, those beautiful aquamarine orbs, would smile at us, and by the end of the week, he'd be in our little leaf dances too, pretending to hate it but secretly wishing for the next fall to come.

And in the middle of it, his hand would find mine, and we'd know that we'd always have each other, because somehow it was just meant to be that way.

I wonder if he cried when they hurt him. Riku doesn't seem like the crying type though. I wonder if he cried when I broke his heart, smashing it into tiny pieces that probably would never fit back together just right. I wonder if he still loves me.

But most of all, I wonder if he'll live long enough for me to be able to find out the answers to my questions.

The sun has set by now, the stars coming out to light the night. I remember when Riku told me that stars are all just different worlds, and I believe him. Then again, I would probably believe anything that comes out of his mouth.

Tears. In my eyes. I'm crying once again, but now's not the time for crying. Right now I have to do something. I have two lives depending on me. Two people I care about, and two people I must save.

The castle come into view. It's a gigantic, sprawling building with pillars and twisted gargoyles at the tops, glaring down at you, stony bodies tense with pretend anger.

The doors stand before me, large, black, and menacing. There's a lock and a keyhole, but I don't have a key. Then the giant overgrown key blade from before appears in my hand.

Hmmm… Large overgrown key… Giant keyhole… Let's put two and two together people.

I lit the key blade towards the lock on the door, and a giant ray of light shines from it's tip, heading straight for the keyhole. What the-

With a light click, the door opens, hinges swinging towards me, the giant doors almost crushing me as I back up.

The foyer is large and cold. The dampness is evident, and I step in a puddle. This place hasn't been cleaned in years. It's almost completely dark, and I can barely see my hand in front of my face. I walk forward, ignoring the putrid smell, my arms stretched in front of me so that I don't impale myself on anything.

"Riku!" I scream, calling out for him. "Riku!" I try again, yelling even louder to reach him. NO response, as to be expected.

I walk forward, almost tripping over the stair case leading into the dungeons. The only light is from the crack in the door, but as I look at it, it closes with a resounding bang!

"Hello Sora," his voice calls out. Light blue eyes are illuminated in the darkness for a second before the light's flicker on. I blink and squint, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the sudden change in lighting, before I see him. He's holding a small bottle with the antidote for Kairi inside.

"Give that back!" I demand, voice desperate. Marluxia laughs.

"I'll give this back to you, if you can pry it from my cold, dead fingers!" A large scythe appears in his hands, the huge blade a strange pinkish color. The entire thing smells of rotting flowers.

Killing him will be all to fun… In no time at all I'll have the potion for Kairi back, and I'll save Riku. Then maybe I can apologize. Then maybe everything will become better.

Heaven

"Riku is not going to live through this, is he?" An anxious Yuffie asks, tears in her eyes. For a moment there's silence. The gods have spent 200 years watching Riku grow and mature, and finally become human again. It hurt that he might die.

"No, I don't think he will…" Leon allows himself to trail off, not wanting to continue. Everybody seems to be waiting for Sephiroth to say something, but even the usually confident silver-haired warrior is silent.

"So, what do you think will happen next?" Yuffie asks, eyes darting around the room. Sephiroth shifts in his seat.

"You know something the rest of us don't Sephiroth," Cloud says. His voice is slightly curious, and he is almost begging for Sephiroth to say something. But the oldest of them refuses to speak, holding his head up and watching the fight raging on bellow.

"So, you finally have something useful to say, and you decide to keep your mouth shut." Leon rolls his eyes, and Sephiroth ignores him, focusing on the fight. Sora is winning, blocking all of Marluxia's hits and delivering devastating blows. Marluxia's blows might look fancy, but they don't deal out much damage, while Sora's attacks are true.

Sephiroth focuses on the fight, already knowing what the end result to be. Knowledge isn't always a beautiful thing. Sometimes it's better not to know at all.

So all of them sit in suspenseful silence, watching a fight that will determine the very future of heaven itself.

Riku

Ughhh… I feel worse than before. Gray splotches have permanently destroyed half my vision, and my head pounds. It's ten times worse than a migraine, and the rest of my body isn't doing so well either. At least the rest of my body is feeling slightly better. The pain has gone away, replaced by numbness and cold. Tiny needles prick at every part of me, but it's better than the pain, anything's better than the pain.

I can smell the demons of death coming to grab me, to pull me down into their endless abyss. I need a nap, a nice long nap. Not the regular kind of sleep, but rather, a rest for my soul. I've been awake for far too long.

I wonder what death is like. It's ironic, I've killed so many, yet I don't even know the answer to that one question.

Is it cold?

Is it really a fiery abyss?

Is there even an afterlife?

I wonder, if reincarnation does exist, what will I come back as? A slug or worm? I haven't lived the best life possible, and I think I'm finally ready to deal with the consequences.

Nothing's holding me to this life, and I think I'm ready to let go…

Sora, I forgive you, and I still love you.

Sora

I point my key blade down at Marluxia, holding it steady at his throat. "Give it to me!" I demand, and he tosses me the potion. The bottle forms in arch in the air, and I barely manage to catch it, not caring that Marluxia just used my distraction as an opportunity to get away. I pocket the small bottle, heading for the stairs.

"Riku!" I scream, praying he'll hear me. "Riku!" His voice echoes ahead of me, repeating itself over and over. Soon I can't tell if his name is echoing through the halls or only in my head.

_Sora, I forgive you, and I still love you. _

Riku, gods no, don't die. I run faster, almost positive that Riku's at the bottom of these stairs, waiting for me. "Riku!"

I finally come to the end of the stairs, and I'm immediately immersed in a deep darkness. My eyes quickly adjust to the darkness, and I scurry through the dungeon area, searching for him. Finally, I come to a door. He's behind it, I know he is. I can feel it in my heart.

Quickly, I shove the door open, and enter the room. It's small and even darker than the rest of the dungeons. The only light is a beam piercing into the room from the door. He's huddled up in the back of the room, a tiny ball surrounded by a pool of his own blood.

"Riku!" I gasp, running towards his broken figure, practically in tears. I lift into my arms, he's far too light. I can feel his blood seeping into my clothing, and I'm glad I can't fully see him. It would hurt too much to see what that bastard did to him. I sut the chains off of him, noticing how limp and fragile he is.

"Sora," his voice is weak, and it cracks a bit. He's shaking slightly, and he's freezing. It's like he's already dead.

"I'm here Riku," I tell him, grabbing is limp hand in my own. I'll find someone to heal him. He'll survive, he has to!

"I love you…" He whispers. It sounds like each word is a struggle, a horrible pain. I nod, then gently untie the blindfold from around his eyes. Bright aquamarine eyes stare up at me, unguarded completely. His eyes are full of sadness and love and relief.

"I know Riku, and I love you too. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." He opens his mouth to say something, but I shush him.

"Don't speak Riku, save your strength." Tears gather in my eyes, as I lift Riku up, struggling to carry him up with me. We have to get out of here.

"I'm going to… die Sora," he says. His voice sounds relieved. No! Riku, you can't die. Not when I just found you.

"No…" I whisper, tears dripping down my face, though I know what he's saying is true. Even if I get him back in time, they might not be able to heal him.

"I forgive you, Sora." His eyes close after that, in eternal peace. No! He's not dead yet. His pulse is still there, weak, but still there. He's so cold, like an ice cube. I stumble towards the stairs when a cold voice stops me.

"It's a good thing Riku's dying. That whelp was never good for anything. He's a worthless excuse of a human who can't even die right." My shoulders tense in anger, and I turn to glare at the man behind me. He has long silver hair and amber eyes that glow in the dark. From the way Riku shivers when he comes closer, I can tell. He's the one that did this to my Riku.

I gently lay Riku on the cold ground and turn to face him. The key blade comes to my hand, and I charge at him. With a laugh, he doesn't even bother to try and dodge. A large shadow appears in front of him, deflecting my hit.

"You're wrong! Riku was never worthless! He's worth more than you'll ever know." Ansem laughs and looks at me.

"You don't understand anything, do you? Do you even know who I, Lord Ansem, am?" He mocks me, and I glare at him before charging. I roll past his shadow guard and stab him with my keyblade, whacking away at him, letting out all of my pain, trying to destroy him.

He summons a large orb of Darkness and it pushes me away, cutting me in the process. I land about a yard and a half from Riku, his eyes half-lidded as he looks up at me. Slowly, his eyes open and he glares at Ansem.

"Rot in Hell," he says, softly, but loud enough so that both Ansem and I can hear him. The keyblade from before appears again, not the black one, but the silver one.

Ansem laughs and sends his shadow after him, but Riku just looks confident and ready. "Riku!" I scream, reaching out to him. Light gathers around him, and suddenly, everything around us is a field of white. I close my eyes, shielding them from the brightness, and suddenly, the shadows gone. Riku drops to the ground like a rag doll, and at that moment I know he's gone. Ansem stumbles backwards, collapsing into the wall. His breathing is heavy, and I can tell he was hit hard by that attack.

I walk over to him, keyblade in hand. "It's time to die!" I scream, and I thrust the key blade into his heart. Ansem's eyes widen for a second before they close, never to open again.

"Riku," I whisper, pulling the keyblade from his chest and running over to him.

"Riku," I shake him, but there's no response.

"Riku!" I check for a pulse, but it's not there.

"RIKU!" I try to convince myself that he's alive, but deep down, I know he's dead.

500 years later in Heaven

"Yuffie," Sephiroth calls out, "it's time." Yuffie turns, dragging Cloud and Leon along with her.

"Oooh! This is so happy! They finally get to be together!" Over the last 500 years, Yuffie's matured into a beautiful woman, hair longer and grown out, and I beautiful figure that lures many of the male gods from all over to watch her. However, her personality is still optimistic, and her tomboyish personality was left untouched by the passing of time.

Cloud and Leon look exactly the same, and they act the same. Not even being stuck with two eccentric people like Yuffie and Sephiroth could change that. Sephiroth's the same also, except for his hair, which is even longer. He refuses to get it cut.

All four of the gods can remember what happened so long ago, after Riku had died. Everything had been a whirlwind, with Sora curing Kairi and returning with Riku's body to his castle. Burying it in a peaceful grave that now lay forgotten.

The worst problem was in heaven though. With both Riku and Ansem dead, there was no one to take control over some much needed duties. The gods waited five hundred years, and it had finally paid off.

Riku had been reincarnated fifteen years ago, and Sora fourteen years ago. They've been best friends for about ten years. Today's the day when they'll finally admit they love each other, and their love will blossom into a beautiful bond that will secure them two very good leaders when Riku and Sora's mortal bodies expire.

While the gods gathered around in heaven, things were very different for Sora and Riku down on Earth. Riku was nervously clutching a Paopu fruit in his hands, it's soft peach like fuzz nuzzling his gloved fingers. He was wearing his regular outfit, a tight yellow and black tank top with weird straps and blue waders over his black jeans.

Today was the day. Today was the day he'd tell Sora he loves him. Ever since he'd met Sora, it felt as if he's found the other half of his soul in the other boy, and they'd been inseparable. He's known he loved Sora since he was twelve, and his feelings haven't faded. If anything, they've only gotten stronger.

Sora hopped up to Riku, bouncing along the path with a happy smile. "Hi Riku!" He greeted cheerfully. They spent a while talking, about anything, their friends, Kairi, Selphie, Tidus, Wakka, and Namine, or school and everything else under the sun. Finally the sun began to set, and Riku finally has the moment he's been waiting for.

"Sora, I want to tell you something…" Riku trails off, nerves getting the better of him. Sora curiously tilts his head to the side.

"What is it Riku?" He asks, curious. Riku gulps, well, it's now or never.

"Sora, I love you. Will you share this with me?" He pulls out the paopu and waits for Sora's response, almost shaking from nerves. What if Sora rejected him? What if he never wanted to see him again?

Sora looks shocked, which doesn't help Riku at all. "Look, I'm sorry. Can we just pretend this never-" before he finishes, Sora crushes their lips together, wrapping his arms around the older boy.

"I love you too, Riku." He states, a smile on his face and tears of happiness streaming down his face. Riku smiles and kisses the tears away, tearing the paopu fruit in half.

"Here," he simply says, handing the sacred fruit out to his best friend, his lover, and his rival all in one.

And so together, two boys share a paopu under the fading sun, resolving an issue that's been going on for 500 hundred years, and up in heaven, four people smile.

"So is this the end?" Yuffie asks, a smile on her face. Cloud shakes his head.

"No," those to still have a lot ahead of them. They have room for love, friendship, and a destiny that will take them several lifetimes to accomplish." Sephiroth smirks.

"And through it all, they'll always have each other."

The End


End file.
